I will always fondly remember February of 2020. My team had just executed a series of training seminars for journalists at 10 or so universities throughout the US (all within 6 weeks). We were about to turn six months of planning into reality for over 300 international business leaders set to gather in Taiwan. We had recently been contracted to manage a series of foodservice industry trade shows for a new client. And we also squeezed in a 24-hour site visit to Miami for a summer conference there. It was breath-taking. We were absolutely ready for a year with huge potential for growth and success.

And then, well, you know what happened next.

Fortunately, a decade managing multi-layered events and conferences means that I’m forever ready for the unexpected. And if nothing else, resourceful. We did end the year having grown and succeeded. Only not in the way I originally expected.

First, Taiwan was cancelled. And a few short weeks later, everything else came to a halt. Project after project was rescheduled or cancelled. Everything went quiet. And I will admit after the first two weeks, the initial shock of the shut down wore off and the anxiety crept in. What’s going to happen to us? Would we be able to rebound from this? For how long can we hang on? There were no answers.

And then…

It began with one client. They wanted us on retainer. Their work was too important to allow the pandemic to slow them down. The US Presidential election was coming and their job was to train journalists how to handle, analyze and report on mis- and disinformation. And as if that wasn’t enough, the pandemic was inspiring a whole new industry of mis- and disinformation that also needed to be dealt with. Virtual events it would be. And quickly.

Then we heard from another client whose events are the core of what they do. They needed help taking their events online for the students that are the center of their program -- students pursuing careers in media. How were they to navigate this new landscape to find experience, opportunities, jobs?

Then, an A/V partner of ours called. They were getting contracts for virtual events and they needed help managing and organizing their projects. By then it was summer. We were working, we were learning. We were having fun. Fortunately, we had enough experience planning events that we were able to make some really good guesses about how to best make the switch to virtual. And we were sure to be transparent with our clients about what we were sure of and what were educated guesses and what we felt wouldn’t work. They were with us every step navigating a new world with us. Having that trust and understanding is paramount to me, in all working relationships.

And then, in a blink, it was December. Barely a week had gone by from June to December without an event. It was awesome.

And we learned SO MUCH.

Test, test, test being the first and most important principle.

Also, putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes, their attendees’ shoes, their guest speakers’ shoes and working extremely hard to ensure their experiences were easy. And then taking very close note of anything we could do to improve the next event, being judiciously critical of our efforts and reviewing our work helped us make adjustments to ensure we only got better as time went on. I’m so proud of our team for the care and close attention they paid to the smallest detail. That quality helped bring everyone’s stress levels down -- one of the goals we always strive to achieve for our clients.

As we begin another year, I am less sure of what to expect than ever. But I know we will thrive. For how long we stay exclusively virtual, I don’t know. But I do know, whether we move to a hybrid model, or if conferences return to their original form, we are ready and eager to roll up our sleeves and keep working.

Reflections on 2020: Stop. Pivot. Excel.

How to build a solid foundation of trust with clients