If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail!


If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That may sound like an overused saying. And while that may be true. It is also spot-on the truth. Just ask Benjamin Franklin, the first person to coin that phrase. Last week I participated in an industry Q & A. It was at a local college and was for event and meeting planning students. And I always enjoy participating and meeting some of our industry’s newbies. In these moments, nine out of ten times I’m asked the same questions. And top of the list; what event planning thingamajig could you never live without.

When you Plan, What is Your Must Have?

I have written articles stating I would never have survived planning events without email. Yes I am aging myself. Or once smartphones were really smart I wondered how we accomplished everything we have without them. But the truth of the matter is as technology and our industry advances, my answer changes. I always felt like there was some different or new motivation, purpose or app that I just had to have to achieve success. But with knowledge and experience comes a better understanding. And I have come to appreciate that while to be successful need tools to help. What I have learned is that the one never changing reason and best piece of advice that I can give is if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Plan, Execute and Succeed…NOW!

As part of an always changing industry with new technology and a fresh group of professionals joining. It is imperative to stay on top of everything. My planning mantra has always been to learn something new every time I plan an event. If you’re a planning professional then you know that the job requires you to be many things to many people. And the work can be tough. To succeed, we have to be multi takers and able to take it all on. This job also forces us to be able to negotiate, market, promote, sell and so much more. It pushes us to seek new things and never stop learning. And encourages us to stay on top of our skills and knowledge.

If You Plan to Fail, You Fail to Plan!

When I was an industry newbie I was lucky to work and learn from some of the masters. And I learned a lot. Starting with there are no free rides when it comes to planning events. And yes it does in deed take hard work. But also some blood, sweat and once in a while a tear or two. But the best advice I can share with anyone but especially someone new to the industry remains if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Having said that planning is actually an important tool for success. Without planning where oh where would we be. Yet lots of decisions are made with little or no planning. It is tempting to skip ahead and get to the good stuff. But don’t. Remember when looking for success, planning in the long run will save you time, money and a whole whack of problems.

When aiming for success, planning is the most important step one can take. No matter the position it helps prepare you for what’s around the corner. And encourages you to utilize your skills and know-how in the most successful and eventful way.

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