THE EVENT & THE EVENTUALITY

The activity is in a full swing.

Everyone is busy or trying to look busy.

You suddenly see some people who appear, as if, by magic and dominate the proceedings whether or not welcome by the real worker bees.

 Some of the smart Alecs are stressing the need of their expertise, how people do not have senses, how the last event failed and how the same set of people are again ruining the present one.

There are many who have personal scores to settle, their own axes to grind, they have scant respect for the event and try every thing possible to increase the difficulty levels to maximum. Their agenda is simple; they want to have a last laugh, so they wait to see the result of their underhand deals.

 I know when you read this; a flash-back of quite a few events would unfold in front of your mind-screen. Let me further say that very few changes have occurred since and the proverbial fight is still on. The doers in any event and the leg- pullers are as old as Adam and Eve.

 The positive thing is that, despite all these odds, millions of events are arranged and they are successful, which should give some solace to the future organizers and event managers. 

 Is there any way to learn the event management?

What a question? So many institutes claim that they do exactly the same. They run the courses on the event management and at least outwardly give an impression that they have the expertise to do the same. With huge data available, people are lured in to a sense of a false security. It appears so simple and organized when you read the articles and further when you see the colorful shining photographs as the testimony, you are ready to launch yourself  as an event manager/ coordinator.

 The time between ‘today’ and the date of the event is the key factor. Do you feel that you have sufficient time to plan and further implement the plan? In most professional organizations this is looked into very seriously and this may be one reason why their events are mostly meeting with desired levels of success. When it comes to the other type, the chaos starts from the date itself. It is a matter of hours rather than days here and it creates immense stress, confusion, ego clashes, and verbal fights, which in worse cases can turn into the physical versions.

 In most cases an organizing committee is formed and with this simple step the seams in the organization become visible. How a committee is constituted can be of great significance; is it through a democratic or an autocratic process, can decide the success of the aspired event. What is the face of the committee? Does it represent the brains or just beauties? What is the acceptance rating of the members? It is seen that a nominated committee has very little chance as far as the success is concerned.

 Next step is the inevitable meetings, some productive others not so. Planning, coordination, preview, review are some the common names of the meetings. The meetings are for the advancement of the purpose, rarely it seems so. Unless a very strong and focused person is at the helm of the affairs these meets can turn in to a big waste of time, as well as in to a blame game. There is usual quota of tantrums, tears, torn papers, thrashed egos and trampled persons.

 With all this preparation, if we may call it so, the D day dawns and the pressures are at their peaks. The chief guest has just informed his inability to ‘grace’ the occasion, the caterer’s mother has been admitted to hospital; the compere has a sore throat, the accountant has just now declared temporary bankruptcy, the number of the participants is declining to a critical level, the delayed start is coinciding with the load shedding of electricity board, some body could not get the necessary government permissions, though reportedly the event has been okayed verbally….. It seems that it just goes on and on. The poor person in charge is at his wits end and there is a queue of persons demanding instant decisions. What he does now is the Event management in practical conditions.

 Madam Ayn Rand  in her epic novel ‘Atlas Shrugged’ has said that when in doubt, check the premises. This may prove as the guiding principle for the event organizer. He has to have a basic belief which has to be constant in spite of the pressures and pains. He has to have a facade which emits strength and optimism. This is easier said than done, but good thing about it is that it can be achieved through practice. The first time is bad but it improves with each attempt. Each additional try can at last give him a sort of his own personal event management manual which is much better than just theory. The theory is important as it is the starting point and because of the same reason it also has its limitations. I have my own share of events and their managements so obviously I have my own key which I am sharing with you all, I hope the next time you organize any event you would have the success as expected.

1. The first thing is the correct scheduling of the date of the event.
2.  You find out the people in your organization, who are like you, think like you; find out all those who are at least not against the idea.
3. The action plans are to be made with the allocation of purpose and the proper persons. No compromise here is a good policy.
4. The check lists of the activities to be ready by a particular day are a must. Ideally ‘7 days before, 3 days before and 24 hours before’ checklists serve the purpose.
5. Planning for the D day.

a)     Segmentation of the entire event in 15 /30 /60 minutes segments helps you to keep a proper control.

b)     The segment coordinators should be given authority and unless some thing foolish is not done they should not be over driven.

c)     The scripting of the events is a must. The rule here is without a pre-checked script no body goes to the stage.

d)     Strong yet courteous people for crowd control are needed.

1. Some basic things are to be reminded to all who matter. Things like the ambience and the decorum of the event, no arguments with any one for any reasons or provocations.

Ask yourself why some events are successful and some are not. Go back in your memory lane. Remember the events where you felt like you were a part of the event, where you felt that the operations are moving ahead in a cohesive effort, where people organizing believed in what they were doing, where the event coordinator had a casual dominance and yet he was courteous, where credit was not mongered and you would set yourself in a proper frame of mind to launch the event. What you should never forget is that you have to retain the same spirit till the event is concluded and applauded as a success. All the best for the Future!

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