This year, I have the unique opportunity to be a volunteer on the planning committee for two events. Each is geared to the business community, but based on their objectives the approach and desired outcomes for each event are very different. One is an industry event for interconnected marketers. The other is a community business event for business leaders.
A breakthrough week
The planning for each event has been underway for the last few months. And this week was a fun week!
Ironically, for each event, the volunteer planning committee had our breakthrough. After weeks of discussing, ideating and collaborating, each started to land their event story arc. The story arc is how we recommend we structure the day/week. At the start of the event where are our attendees. And at the end, where do we want this event to take them. I like this approach to events…maybe it’s the content marketer in me. Ok, there is no maybe, it’s 100% is the content marketer in me. And here’s why…and you will not be surprised to hear, it comes back to customer-centricity. When your audience gives you the gift of their time (either through consuming your content or attending your event), I think we owe it to them to ensure we’ve proactively designed an experience that is worthy of that time investment.
This weekend, I’ve been reflecting on the positives of the week, and it hit me, these two activities reminded me of 3 essential things.
3 essential volunteer lessons
- Volunteering is a learning experience: It has been SO fun for me to be on these committees. They each contain several people and that means we get to see and hear how others approach a similar goal. We get to learn; we get to understand their business more and how they come at things. Can volunteering for planning committees like this take time and energy from you? Yes, but I am finding I am getting so much more out of them. I am learning things – even about my own community – I never knew. I am getting to know people better – and meeting new people. And I am learning how to approach things differently. The saying is true: you will always get more out of volunteering and that is why it is such a powerful action.
- Planning is a team activity: Each person has brought a unique contribution. I know we say it a lot in marketing, teamwork makes the dream work. But it is true. Had each person not been on the committees, the outcome would not be what it is. It takes diverse ideas, various networks, different business perspectives to create an event for a large group of people.
- Connections are essential: Two different events, two different goals, one major shared theme: we must create space for connections. I think we’ll see this as a continuing theme in business (and society) for the next several years. We even have major brands promoting it as part of social marketing (see Jim Beam’s People are Good For You commercial). We were forced to abandon connections because of the Pandemic – and I think in the next several years we will see a desire for authentic connections amongst colleagues, brand and business. In each of these events, we discussed how each speaker/panel would create opportunity for people to connect, discuss and have the ability to have ongoing connections to continue the conversation. It was also fun this week to be on a call and someone commented, “we’re really covering the U.S., we’ve got people on this call from New York, Virginia, New Orleans and Portland.” Connection does not mean the same physical space, but it does mean same mental and/or objective space and I think that means we can create even more meaningful connections.
Volunteering value
I am thankful for the opportunity to volunteer with these two events. I’m grateful for the other volunteers. I am excited to help bring these to life. Let’s connect and let’s learn together.
