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Pull something off the shelf. I write most weeks about the parts of an event nobody sees.
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Event evaluation questions to answer each night of your event
It's eleven at night on event day and the bed is right there. Ten minutes of notes now saves an hour of trying to remember next week, and gets you better answers. These are the event evaluation questions worth answering each night, before the details fade.
Post-event follow-up: what's still open after guests leave
Everyone's gone home, and the plan is to deal with the rest next week, once you've caught up on your own business. By then, the small details are already fading. This post covers the three things still open after your last guest leaves, and which one disappears first.
Event planning steps, in the order they actually go
Nine days out from your event, and the document your team needs is still being written rather than checked. That week gets decided months earlier, in the order things got built. This post walks the five layers of an event, what each one is waiting on, and how to pick it up from wherever you already are.
How to manage dietary requirements at a retreat
A guest tells you at registration that she can't eat something; you send the list to the caterer, and the plated meals go perfectly. Then there's a reception with forty unlabeled things on trays. This post covers what to collect, who it goes to, and the step that catches an error before it reaches somebody.
The event planning form that replaced nine emails
Somebody on your team turns up with the wrong number, and they were told the right one in a conversation three weeks ago. This post covers why that keeps happening even when everyone communicates well, the event planning form that fixed it on a nine-hundred-person conference, and the three things that make written capture actually hold.
Event planning timeline: what waits and what doesn't
Your caterer has been on the list for three weeks and you keep not picking one, because the final headcount isn't in yet. That's two decisions, and only one of them is actually waiting. This post covers the question that separates what genuinely has to stay open from what's already decided and hasn't been said out loud.
Run of show meaning: the production document for your day
You've written the agenda; it covers what's happening and when, and something still feels missing when you picture the actual morning. The piece you're looking for is a separate document written for a different set of people. This post covers what goes on a run of show, who gets one, and how to build yours.
The 5 event planning steps that come before everything else
Leaning toward a date is not the same as having one, and nobody on your team can build on a decision you haven't actually made. This post covers the five decisions everything in your event sits on top of, the order they go in, and how to spot the one of yours that's still hanging open.
Event accessibility planning for retreats and conferences
Someone tells you at registration that they'll need something, and you want to get it right without making a production of it. This post covers what to ask on the form, when you need the answers back, what to check with the venue, and who on your team has to know before the day.
The event planning process and why yours feels unfinished
The agenda has been rewritten four times and none of the versions are better than the last one. That usually means something the agenda depends on hasn't been decided yet. This post walks through four signs a decision in your event is still open when it should already be settled, and what one open decision ends up costing.
How to plan an event from scratch: decide these five first
Starting from nothing is mostly a question of order, and the wrong order is what makes it feel impossible. This post covers five decisions that make every decision after them significantly easier, and what to do with each one.
Timeline for event planning: what the last three weeks do
The last three weeks before an event aren't more of the same work at a faster pace. They're a different job with a different shape, and knowing that changes what you prepare. This post covers what those weeks are actually for.
The difference between planning your event and running your event
Connected tools and a working setup are two different achievements. This post covers how the pieces fit together so that registration, confirmations, and reminders keep moving without you remembering to push them.
The difference between planning your event and building your tech
Planning your event and building the tech behind it are two separate jobs, and treating them as one is why both keep taking longer than you budgeted. This post covers where the line sits and what belongs on each side of it.
How to successfully execute a retreat after the planning is done
Planning ends and running begins, and the two ask entirely different things of you. Most hosts prepare thoroughly for the first and improvise the second. This post covers what execution actually requires and what to build before you get there.
5 clarity decisions you must make before booking your retreat venue
Guests loved it, the photos were beautiful, and privately you decided you'd never do that again. That reaction has a cause, and it usually has nothing to do with the event itself. This post covers where it comes from and what changes it.
How to prevent your retreat from falling apart (even if you’re a first-time host)
Something changes in a client relationship after you've been in a room together. She replies faster, refers more freely, and renews without a conversation about it. This post covers what actually happens in that room and why an afternoon does what a year of posting cannot.
It's eleven at night on event day and the bed is right there. Ten minutes of notes now saves an hour of trying to remember next week, and gets you better answers. These are the event evaluation questions worth answering each night, before the details fade.