The Number One Mistake Event Managers Still Make.

Every event is an opportunity to grow your people, your organisation, and your business. However, after attending 1000’s of events I still see a common mistake, and a missed opportunity: too many events are planned in isolation. Instead, every event should build on past events and point to the next event.

The goal of this article is to highlight that internal management events are most effective when they are planned as part of an ongoing process, not in isolation. And how hiring a Professional Keynote Speaker reenforces this ongoing process of organisation development.

Your Ongoing Context

The ultimate goal of an internal management event is to take your team and organisation to the next level; to grow your business. And to do this you need to know where you have come from, where you are now, and where you are going next.

This means you need to understand how the event is part of a larger context and part of an ongoing sequence of activities. The best events, therefore, are part of an Ongoing Context: they are placed in context and positioned within an sequence of activities.

Events need to be placed in context & positioned in a sequence of activities.

The Problem: Events in Isolation

However, all too often events are planned in isolation. Rather than the event being planned as part of an ongoing sequence of activities; it is planned as a separate activity; segregated from all other actives within the organisation.

While there is a necessity to focus on a specific topic, one department, or a single team, all focus areas still operate within an ongoing context.

To have impact, an event must not only be relevant for the participants (which can be a very specialised focus), it must also be planned as an ongoing sequence of activities within a larger context.

An additional problem of isolation is a lack of support to sustain the energy gained during the event. All too often after an event, there is a drop in energy; there is a dip when people go back to work. If however the event is placed within an ongoing context we understand where we are now and where we are going next; our direction and focus of energy is clear.

The Solution: Events in Constellation.

The future of events is moving from isolated events to ongoing processes. Instead of isolated one-off moments, events will be integrated into cycles of ongoing organisation development.

The means that every event builds on the last and points to the next; this is the shift from isolation to constellation. Events are planned to build on each other.

The future of events is the shift from isolated events to ongoing processes.

The Catalyst: A Professional Keynote Speaker

When you hire a Professional Keynote Speaker for your internal management event they will help you to understand your ongoing context. It is natural for them to reflect with you on who you are, your current context, and where you are going (See also our article What is a Keynote Speaker? ).

So one of the key skills of a Professional Keynote Speaker is that they offer an external perspective on your ongoing context. They help you see logical patterns from past events, the importance of this event, and the link to future events.

Then, during the event, a Professional Keynote Speaker will use your ongoing context to reinforce the key messages; the most powerful content is in context. They will remind your teams of where you have come from, where you are now, and what you are doing next.

For more on on the value, a Professional Keynote Speaker brings to your event, see our article: Why do I need a Keynote Speech?

So the next time you are planning an internal management event do not plan it in isolation. Instead, plan it as part of an ongoing process. Then consider hiring a Professional Keynote Speaker to act as a catalyst and reinforce your ongoing process of organisation development.