How to Run a Tight Ship from a Distant Dock
People in leadership typically have an idea of how they want things to run. We have a clear picture of what high quality or a finished product should look like, and we want things to be well-executed so the end user has the intended experience.
Maybe you’re a multi-site church leader who can’t be physically present at every newcomer’s event. Perhaps you’re a small groups pastor who wants every living room across your city to have a particular “feel.” It could be that you’re just planning ahead to be sick and want a checklist that your team can run at a moment’s notice. Whatever the case, you need clear explanations, expectations, and documentation to get your vision to the final venue.
Recently I worked with my friend and fellow staff member Brad Hambrick on just such a project. Later this year he’ll be leading a counseling conference at a seminary in the Dominican Republic. Churches from across the Spanish-speaking world have signed on to be livestream sites for the conference, meaning Brad and his team need to influence venues they’ll never see and lead leaders they’ll never meet.
He knows that a good conference is not just about solid content or a hiccup-free livestream, but that everything from the comfort of the venue to the quality of the coffee will impact the experience of the conference attendee.
You can download the document we assembled below, but before you get there, here are three quick tips on establishing your own standards for a spot where you’re not:
1. Make it simple.
Sure, you can create a 400-page binder with contract riders, diagrams, and contingency plans. And for massive events, that might be necessary. But most of the events we’re leading remotely won’t require nearly that much. Brad’s vision was for a 1-2 page best practice guide to make each site an excellent experience.
2. Make it universal.
This particular conference is going to be livestreamed into churches of all shapes and sizes with all manners of budgets and variations on available resources. While our document provided examples of products with links to Amazon, the emphasis was on examples: “Here’s what we’re talking about…not necessarily this, but something like this.”
3. Make it doable.
Just as the venues are variable, so are the leaders. Some will have a full forty hours in the weeks leading up to this to prepare. Some will be bi- or tri-vocational pastors, fitting this in among the thousand other assignments. The goal is clear tasks, easy wins, and zero frustration.
Download the sample venue setup guide here.
You’ve put a lot of effort into the initial ideas for your event. Don’t let a poor venue lead to bad experience for the end user.
Special shoutout to ChatGPT for the assist on this article’s title. Well done, robot. Well done.
