How to Plan a Major Corporate Event

The president of your company calls you into his office, and asks you to begin planning the company's 100th anniversary event. Considering that the organization has more than 10,000 employees and will have in excess of $1 billion in income this year, this is not just another party. The president expects it to be one of the most memorable events in the company's history. It has to be top-drawer and the budget you have been given is substantial. Here is how you can go about planning this major corporate event.

Instructions

1. Write down all of the tasks you can think of involving the planning of such a huge event. The first item on your list should be forming the committee that will execute all of the tasks ahead of you. Before proceeding further, you should bring that committee together to brainstorm all that has to be done, and to assign initial tasks.

2. Put together a folder with headings such as Tasks, Dates, Costs, Questions and Completion Dates. Since you will likely be noting changes often, choose a medium such as your laptop computer, legal pad or PDA. Choose whichever is easiest for you and for those whom you will be frequently updating.

3. Develop a “line-item budget” based on the total amount you have to spend. Recognize that this will be only a starting point and that changes will be made often before the party takes place. As a rule of thumb, set aside about 10 percent of your total budget to cover the unexpected costs that are sure to arise.

4. Researching the possible venues. Involve your committee at this stage of planning, for two reasons. First, they may come up with ideas that never occurred to you. Second, this is an excellent time to engender a sense of ownership in the process. Because the location will bear directly on the success of the party, don't think that certain places are too expensive. The ultimate cost will be determined by a number of factors such as meals, service, number of people and activities, and they are all negotiable.

5. Decide on the program theme early in the planning process. Much of this depends on the type of guests who are to be entertained. If you must impress the board of directors, for example, you might choose to partner with a company that specializes in developing and executing themes. Or, if you turn to them for tasks other than advertising, you might tap your company's advertising agency for this assignment and it could bring its creativity to the project.

6. Delegate the responsibility for execution to your committee. You should recognize early that you cannot do everything yourself. Therefore, you need to rely on your committee to do the heavy lifting. As they arise, assign tasks to the appropriate members of the committee, and have frequent meetings to be assured they are being done.