Decision-Making Tips for When Plans Change on Event Day

If you were alive in the mid-90s and owned a TV, you couldn’t escape Friends. So many memorable episodes and one-liners came from that show, but the one that springs to mind most often in my life as an event professional is Ross shouting “Pivot!” to his hopeless cohorts as they attempt to move a couch up a very couch-unfriendly NYC stairwell.

We plan. A lot. We account for every knowable variable for an event, and we try to anticipate as many of the unknowns as we can. Before we head out to a site, we study the checklists, maps, vendor orders, and list of special circumstances, all to prepare ourselves for a smooth and (fingers crossed!) issue-free event. But, often, reality will end up throwing a curveball or two our way, plans will change, and in those moments, we all have to channel our inner Ross and be ready to pivot! And yes, even though Ross’s pivoting didn’t solve his immediate problem, an event professional can hone the skills to execute a perfect pivot every time.

So, imagine you are the lead on an event that is facing the need to make a change or two to the original plans. Knowing the best ways to approach these changes will ensure a flawless move rather than a messy logjam in a stairwell (so to speak).

Take a Beat: Even though the need to make changes to an event may come up suddenly, that doesn’t mean the solution has to. Pause. Look at the situation from different angles. Call in support (from your fellow staff members or your command center) and take the time to hear what they have to say. You don’t need an answer right away, and if someone else is waiting on your eventual answer, it’s okay to tell them, “I’m not sure just yet. Let me get back to you.” Yes, many event-related decisions are time-sensitive, but if something is so critical that it won’t even allow you a few minutes to reach a well thought-out solution, that’s not a decision, it’s an emergency and that requires an entirely different approach. For everything else, the benefit of taking the time to weigh options and outcomes is worth the wait.

Safety First: It’s not just a catchy saying. The safety of participants, staff and volunteers, and even the members of the public on the periphery of your event is and should always be your number one priority. Full stop. If a decision needs to be made about something related to the event, consider first if the change will in any way pose a threat to any people (and property, too), and if the answer is yes, that pretty much makes the decision for you.

Circle the Stakeholders: The need to make changes could come in different forms: maybe inclement weather is on the horizon, perhaps the client has asked to move some tents around on the site layout, or it could be that some unexpected roadwork is forcing you to reroute part of your course. Whatever the reason for the change, it’s important that you round up the key parties who have a stake in the impact of a potential revision. At minimum, this will likely include the client, but may also extend to the site contact, police or other jurisdictional support, vendors, and potentially, the participants and volunteers themselves. While it’s probably not necessary to get buy-in from every stakeholder — and chances are you won’t have time to read everyone in anyway — you definitely should pick the brains of those who are directly affected by the decision (the tent vendor, for example, if you’re considering changing up the layout of the festival) and use their input to inform whatever plan you ultimately decide on.

Offer Options: Some decisions will be clear cut and won’t need any special finessing. But other times, the change you’re facing may be nuanced enough to warrant having a few options on the table to choose from. You should try not to offer anything as a possibility until you’ve vetted it thoroughly, but once you have two or three potential paths, weigh them against each other — using input from the key stakeholders mentioned above — and pick the one that offers the most benefits with the fewest problems. If you’re lucky, one option will stand out as the obvious choice, but be prepared to sacrifice some benefits for the sake of the bigger picture.

Proceed with Confidence: This might be the step that leaves the most powerful and lasting impression in the wake of a change to the event. Once you’ve made a well-informed decision, stand your ground and carry on with confidence. If the people in your orbit — be it the client, vendors, or participants — sense that you’re second guessing yourself, they are going to be a lot less likely to get on board themselves. You might feel like radiating this air of confidence is secretly a case of “fake it till you make it” but it really isn’t. You are an event professional. If you’ve stuck to the other tips and steps above, you can trust your stuff, knowing you’ve made a good decision.

Sure, it would be nice if every event went off without a hitch and you never had to juggle the “what ifs” of last-minute changes. But that’s not the reality. Sometimes you have no choice but to try and wrangle that couch up the stairwell. Equipping yourself with the right tools and approaching things with a willingness to pivot will make all the difference.

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