Here I go again, trying to debunk the chaos that is the events world. The long hours on your feet, thinking for thirty people at once, while no matter the resources provided, everyone turns to you like you're a higher power available to pivot, put out fires, and bestow a solution to every dart of a matter that comes your way. Oh, the glorious event world. Where we glamorize stress and take exceeding ROIs as a grand prize, all while willingly participating in our own future health diagnoses as a result of a high-stress environment. Hello — at some point, God willing, you're going to be 60, 70, and above. What was the stress for? Is there not a better way?
And no. No, event professionals are not magicians. Yes, we are talented and creative problem-solvers who think on our feet. But that is not a pass for abuse of labor, inconsistent processes, and a lack of strategy implementation.
If you haven't gathered from the above, I am the most anti-burnout event professional you will ever meet. Coming from a burnout survivor that was fueled by adrenaline, prayers, and a guardian angel — because I refuse to give coffee the credit.
The line was officially drawn for me when I had the opportunity to be part of a fascinating project for a major company. Oh man, I went in thinking these people definitely had their stuff together. This was no small fries — this was the main course, the whole menu. Boy, was I wrong. My goodness.
This wasn't even the fault of the events department. It was the result of a generation of executives unwilling to welcome new strategies — stuck in the stone ages, withholding the resources the team needed to thrive. Not even a budget to maintain the resources they already had, while coordinating events with budgets in the millions. This is the part where people say, "Event planners are magicians!" and we eat it up like a three-Michelin-star dinner, wearing the abuse of labor as a badge of honor. It needs to stop.
Event professionals are some of the most talented people I've ever come across — and I'm not just talking about people who put cutesy gatherings together (nothing wrong with that, by the way). I'm speaking of individuals with actual spidey senses, no spider bite needed. They cover every nook and cranny of a project’s execution. Some even account for the scent of the room attendees will be in. I could go on. But my question is: should they suffer as a result of their genius minds? Should they suffer for being multifaceted people? Absolutely not.
That's why I'm on a mission. And no, I don't have all the answers. I'm not going to tell you to build another spreadsheet or download another app — at least not yet. You probably already have 80 tabs open: 20 in your mind, 10 on your phone, the rest on your laptop. Not to mention every chat group you're managing. Insane, right?
That's why I'm not throwing anything at you just yet. As an anti-burnout advocate for event professionals, I want to master simplicity. Through my organization, I build specific formulas for each organization's needs. Events are like thumbprints — each one has its own identity. The approach can't be one-size-fits-all. I haven't toured the world managing the biggest events on earth. But I have been fortunate to work across a diverse set of corporate and community environments, enough to understand that different organizations require different processes. That was a hard lesson for me — if something worked perfectly for me, why wouldn't it fit the next person the same way? That's just not how it works. So many factors play into strategy design: team size, access to resources, department budget, the company's underlying pain points. The list goes on, and it's unique to every organization.
That's why the formula has to be built from the root. November to November inspects the issues event professionals and departments face at the foundation, determines what the formula should be based on available resources, then uses case studies and trial runs to see if the customization actually works. Yes, this is challenging, annoying work in the beginning — I won't front or lie. We get down, and we get dirty. This isn't light work. It isn't surface-level. We care about the human behind the “magician,” and we're going to be upfront and honest about it. The goal is to leave you better than we found you — with a sturdy, foundational formula (your organization's event strategy thumbprint) that you can keep building on.
In consultation, we start by observing the mindset. If the mind isn't fertile and ready for improvement, the work is useless, and you'll burnout into the sunset anyway. But the real goal here is to offer a real solution to the impending burnout crisis facing event professionals.
Life is a gift. A quality life is even better. And magic will not save us.
