Meetings

Lunchtime Links: Keeping Cool During Chaos

Tips for event planners when the unexpected occurs. Also: why neglecting to monitor your progress can stall your forward motion.

If the unexpected is threatening your attendees’ conference experience, keep calm and carry on. How to take the heat when events go haywire, in today’s Lunchtime Links:

Bypass panic mode: When event planners are in a conference conundrum, all is not lost. From faulty apps to lost guest speakers, consultant and Event Manager Blog contributor Cathy Key has seen it all. She provides expert advice on how to problem-solve event emergencies like a champ. “Ask yourself this critical question: Why was that part of the event important in the first place? You need to get right back to your core objectives and, looking from there, figure out a new way to fulfill them,” she says.

Never fear feedback: The Build Network’s Ilan Mochari believes there is always a risk when supervisors and their employees turn a blind eye to bad news, whether they are  simply inattentive to mistakes or fearful of failure and tune out negative feedback. Keeping track of professional peaks and valleys helps everyone learn and improve. Mochari shares a suggestion from psychologist-turned-writer Christian Jarrett on how to reprogram your team (and yourself) to think about mistakes as well as accomplishments. “Remind yourself not to be a perfectionist,” Jarrett writes. “It’s [OK] to screw up. Struggles and setbacks aren’t an abnormality, they are part of the process.”

“See, predict, and plan ahead”: Although top-tier executives have the final say in your association’s business strategy, not all problem-solving should be left in their hands. Inc.com reporter Will Yakowicz writes that for an office to gain a wider perspective, more employees should tackle strategic planning to help their teams make better long-range, analytical decisions. Yakowicz cites Management Research Group’s vice president of research, Robert Kabacoff, who recommends that the entire staff clearly understand the company’s philosophy in order to accomplish its goals. “Individuals and groups need to understand the broader organizational strategy in order to stay focused and incorporate it into their plans and strategies,” Kabacoff said.

What’s on your reading list today? Tell us about it in the comments.

(photo by brandbook.de/Flickr)

Alexis Williams

By Alexis Williams

Alexis Williams is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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