Generally speaking, event professionals are efficiency experts. They focus on managing the many logistical details that go into planning and executing successful events. By contrast, business professionals are effectiveness experts. They focus on the “big picture” and managing or allocating resources in order to maximize the business impact of ... More....
strategy types
How We Define Event Success: Part I – How it should be done
When it comes to determining success, business professionals start by determining their overarching goals and objectives, translate these into sensible metrics or KPIs, store them in a repository where they can be properly analyzed and interpreted, and then turn that data into meaningful insights and ultimately, a competitive advantage. So what ... More....
What is Strategy?
Despite the fact that the word, “strategy” is so commonly used, there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding its definition, even among so-called experts. The topic of strategy was first introduced by the Chinese in treatises like Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’, written in 400 B.C. Our Western understanding of strategy originates from the Greek word ... More....
The Business Case for Strategy
Every businesses start with an idea. If the business develops like most businesses, that idea is captured in a mission statement, which explains the businesses purpose or why it exists. Next comes a vision statement, which outlines where the business sees itself in the future - assuming it’s successful in accomplishing its mission. Then ... More....
The Difference Between Event Planning and Event Strategy
If event professionals - the efficiency experts - need to understand and act more like business professionals - the effectiveness experts - in order to deliver more value for their stakeholders, then it’s in their best interests to understand the difference between planning and strategy. Planning and strategy are often used synonymously despite ... More....
What is a Business Strategist?
A business strategist is a person responsible for the formulation and implementation of a strategy - that set of guiding principles used for decision making. You may not know many business strategists but this is an actual job title with an actual job description. Business strategists help identify new opportunities for their organization and ... More....
The Business Case for an Event Strategist
The Event Strategist is a relatively new role. As such, not much is known about it. There’s no competency model that outlines the required knowledge, skills and abilities that determines job success. There’s no clearly defined job description. Yet, there’s little doubt that there’s a genuine need for such a role. The changing nature of ... More....
What is an Event Strategist? Part I: The Competency Model
An event strategist is someone who’s primary objective it to realize the full business potential of an event. As such, they focus more on event effectiveness than event efficiency. An event planner, by contrast, is someone who’s primary objective is to successfully execute an event plan. In that sense, the event planner is primarily ... More....
What is an Event Strategist? Part II: The Job Description
The job of Event Strategist is so new, there are too few job descriptions available which can be used as a template when hiring one. So how does one develop a job description for such a relatively new job that barely exists? Every job description, even if you’ve hired for the job before, begins with a job analysis. A job analysis is ... More....
Random thoughts, opinions, observations, comments, questions…
Events that simply meet the status quo are no longer sufficient. You have to exceed expectations in order to differentiate yourself from the crowd these days. Never be satisfied with the status quo. There’s always room for process improvements. How are you exceeding expectations? How are you identifying areas and opportunities for process ... More....
The Strategic Planning Hierarchy for Events: Part I Mission, Vision and Values Statements
A strategy isn’t something that just appears out of thin air. Developing an effective strategy requires some preliminary steps and some subsequent steps that ultimately determine its success or failure. So let’s take a look at the strategic planning hierarchy. At the top of the hierarchy is a Mission Statement. As mentioned before, every ... More....
Strategic Planning Models
There is no perfect strategic planning process or model. Each organization should customize the approach that makes the most sense for them considering its culture, the current situation, and the purpose of its planning. Basic or Conventional Strategic Planning Model This is the most common model of strategic planning. It is ideal for ... More....
The biggest problem with strategy…
The biggest problem with the way organizations think about strategy is that they confuse strategy with plans. They’re not the same. Strategic planning is an oxymoron. A strategy is a framework for making decisions. Without a strategy, a company will run in too many different directions, squandering resources. The framework establishes how the ... More....
Quotes About Strategy…
“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” Michael Porter “Strategy without process is little more than a wish list.” Robert Filek “Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it’s about deliberately choosing to be different.” Michael Porter “Strategy is about setting yourself apart from the competition. It’s not a matter of ... More....
Why your event needs a strategy
Developing an event strategy isn’t something more to do, it’s a better way of doing what you already are doing. Need more reasons? Here’s a few… Event strategy helps… Summary: Strategic planning is no guarantee of success - no one gets it right every time - but it’s better than no strategy at all. ... More....
Good vs. Bad Strategy
Because “strategy” is such a difficult term to define and explain, even among the experts, I try to post more as opposed to less on the topic. In addition, very little has been written specifically about event strategy. Most of what’s out there is very generic and of little value. The three elements to strategy… The first natural advantage ... More....
