What We’re Up To

March already? Isn’t March supposed to come in like a lion and out like a lamb? Today is a beautiful day in Philadelphia and certainly not lion-like at all. Maybe that’s a sign that spring really is coming soon! While today’s weather may be uneventful, things in our office certainly are eventful … just the way we like things!

We’ll start with a peek into what is coming up within the organizations we support …

We just announced the speaker line-up for the NAWBO Greater Philadelphia 2013 Leadership Conference: How Great Women Lead. We are so excited to be inspired by these fabulous (and local!) women – check out our speaker list here and save the date – April 16, 2013 at The Crowne Plaza in King of Prussia! Early registration ends March 15!
The American Red Cross Red Ball is coming up on March 9. The Red Cross does so much to support our local community and we are thrilled to support this cause.
The United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey’s Women’s Initiative 10 Year Anniversary Gala on March 13 closely follows The Red Ball. We loved being involved in the strategy development and planning process for this event, and are looking forward to seeing the evening unfold. Join us at the Crystal Tea Room on March 13.

Wow, a lot going on over the next several weeks and that’s just with our volunteer and community activities. We are keeping busy with both short and long-term client projects as well. We are spending a lot of time sourcing and beginning the planning process for client conferences later this year and in 2014. We don’t always have the luxury of having a long planning cycle, but it really does make a world of difference. With tight planning cycles, things move fast and it’s sometimes difficult to give the event strategy the time it truly deserves because contract deadlines, registration deadlines, menu selection deadlines, vendor selection deadlines and so many other deadlines scream the loudest for attention. In the end, it all gets done but the process can be more stressful than it needs to be. With long planning cycles, the deadlines don’t scream at you and instead, happen naturally as part of the cycle. This allows everyone involved in the planning time to think clearly and really delve deeply into the answer to “why are we doing this event?” When this question has the room to breathe and grow, the planning cycle becomes so much more strategic and so much less frenzied, which leads to a stronger outcome that really will move the needle in terms of results.

We know what your question is … ‘what is the ideal lead time for an event?’

The answer is that there isn’t one ideal lead time for every possible event. It will depend on the type, complexity, and results you seek. For some events, a 3 month planning cycle may be more than enough but for others, a year or more is needed. The best answer we can provide is to start the planning process (even at the highest possible level) as soon as you know that an event is a possibility. If it doesn’t ultimately happen, not much is wasted and if it does end up happening, you will be thrilled that you had that extra time to get a jump start on things.

Thanks for taking the time to catch up with us as we start a brand new month! What are you up to this month?