Don't Pivot. Do This Instead.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve heard the word pivot a lot this year. And although I’m a huge fan of Friends, the word grates on me as much as Ross yelling P-I-V-O-T in the infamous moving episode.

I appreciate that there has been a lot of pivoting these last 6 months, in business, in our events, in our personal lives. For me, to pivot implies that we’re taking all the momentum we had been using to move in a certain direction, and just shifting that same momentum in a new direction. There is no doubt in my mind that a lot of good has come from some of these pivots, and even so, I feel like this year has prompted a deeper level of personal and professional examination than a pivot encompasses.

At the start of the year (pre-covid), my team and I had a lot of plans for 2020 - we had blog posts and social media and product launches prepared and planned for the next few months and new processes to get projects started and reviewed within plenty of time.

Now, in these last few months, we've now found ourselves with a lot of prepared material that's not currently relevant or ideal for the time we’re in. We've been spending a lot of time re-evaluating our mission, re-imagining how we can serve, and re-purposing our expertise to support our community in new ways.

This type of examination is important on all levels, including our events and the ways in which we gather together in community. To create events of impact and transformation, and experience ease and joy in the process, I believe that changes to our events require more than just pivoting. Whether it is updating an annual event from year to year, or making an in-person event now a virtual event, or planning for our in-person events once we are allowed to gather again.

Instead of pivoting your event, take a moment for my 3 re’s. Re-evaluate, re-imagine, and re-purpose.

• Re-Evaluate: My process of re-evaluating always comes back to my WHY. This is about getting in touch with my bigger why, the one that excites me to get up each day, and the smaller whys of a specific event or community gathering. What is my purpose for bringing people together and hosting a particular event? During times of change, it is possible for our Whys to stay consistent, but it’s also possible they might change. Being aware of this, grounding into the overarching goal and vision of an event, and allowing it to grow and evolve, is the first key step.
• Re-Imagine: So often when we are trying to adjust our events, whether it’s freshening up an event that happens regularly or making an in-person event a virtual event, we try to accomplish the exact same teaching and activities just in a slightly different format. But what would happen if you allow yourself to re-imagine the entire event? Even small changes or transitions are a great time to step back and dream big. Re-imagine what your event could be, what amazing activities you can have for your attendees to engage in, and start from scratch with possibility.
• Re-Purpose: When we are in a time of pivot, I find that my clients – and even with my own events and teachings – I start with trying to re-purpose everything I have already and just deliver it in new ways. This is an important step, but it isn’t the first step. Starting with re-purposing our content keeps us with a viewpoint of what is possible and limits the potential outcomes. On the contrary, when we take the time to step back and revisit the beginning steps of planning our event, the re-purposing of our content and expertise can more easily align with the bigger goals and vision for our event and be a vehicle for the transformation that we want from our events.

Begin with re-evaluating your why, and then re-imagine the best possible experiences based on your event, and finally re-purpose your content and expertise to support the mission of your event and your business to create the most meaningful and transformational experience for your event attendees.

So what about you? How can you use events to serve your clients in new and impactful ways? What does a re-imagined event look like for you; how can you dream bigger into what your event can be? And how can you repurpose content that you already have to meaningfully serve and encourage your community right now?

Are you in the midst of pivoting your event? If so, let’s chat! I always love to connect, so reply to this email and we can set up a time to work through the 3 Re’s for your event, or anything else you’re re-imagining these days.