High but Prioritized Standards

“High Standards”

This phrase comes with some baggage, right? Does it make you think of that mean boss you had (or have)? Maybe a stern parent or teacher growing up? Deep down, we know that there are examples of good and bad “High Standards”. Setting our bags down for a minute, I think that most people in a leadership role believe that they have high standards about what is important to their organization. Let’s go on a journey to discuss how to apply those standards to Last Mile production.

What is Last Mile Production? We talked about that in our introduction to the series! Go check it out and come back.

To develop high standards, you have to first have your goals written down and in order of priority. The first one needs to be closely tied to your payoff for the event. We call it the PAYOFF GOAL. Is it to raise money? Well, it should be if you are planning a fundraiser! What about, inspiring passion to close the wage gap? Create a space for a particular type of people to express themselves freely? Increase profits for your for-profit business? Whatever the PAYOFF GOAL is, it has to be #1 on the list. Find that first.

What are your SUPPORTING GOALS to the PAYOFF GOAL? These goals are specific tactics you are using to get to the result you want. These goals only exist to support the PAYOFF GOAL but should never supersede it.

For example, if you are planning a fundraising gala your SUPPORTING GOALS may include:

·         Get potential funders to stay as long as possible because they are genuinely enjoying themselves.

·         Create an exclusive VIP space for bigger potential donors, corporate donors, and former donors (and be prepared to take their money).

·         Promote / Thank / Display major sponsors of the event and major donors who are already committed.

·         Plan an appeal to directly access the funds of the people, especially those in the VIP.

Next, set your AESTHETIC GOALS. These are the goals for how the event will look, feel, sound, etc. This can be anything from scenic design to entertainment. Even a theme for the food. When you set these goals, always make sure to have the PAYOFF GOAL and the SUPPORTING GOALS in plain view. These AESTHETIC GOALS should all be in service to the other two. In our example, if the donors may not react well to a menu that is exclusively Indian food, you should change that AESTHETIC GOAL to better serve the higher tiers. If you have reason to believe that it will be a great theme for the donors you have, go for it! Just keep an eye on that goal of getting people to stay. Hungry people leave.

Lastly, set your REQUIREMENTS. These are the things that you NEED to do to achieve the GOALS. Let’s be clear: REQUIREMENTS cost Money, Time, and Skills. This can be everything from furniture rentals to a Scenic Designer to a custom-ordered ice sculpture. Whatever they are, you have to ensure that you can afford and deliver all of the REQUIREMENTS that you identified to meet your goals. If you can’t, you are setting yourself up for a LAST MILE CRISIS.

We spent the entire article, up to now, discussing goals. Standards can only be kept high if you can look back to these goals. You can only prioritize if you can see the priority of your goals. Back to our fundraiser analogy: Never let an AESTHETIC GOAL compromise a SUPPORTING GOAL. If the caterer that will keep your guests there all night requires that you cut some décor to afford them, do it! If you are fearful that you will run out of drinks, buy more! I don’t care if you have to find something in the lower tier to cut. You must make decisions that have high standards based on the priorities you set out. Now that you have your goals and can set the bar based on those goals, you have to come back to two things during the last mile: the REQUIREMENTS and the REALITY.

Look at your REQUIREMENTS and see what is least important. Identify them immediately, even before they are problematic. You always need to know what you can cut for the sake of budget, time, or quality in other areas. When you get into the Last Mile, things will start to crunch. It always happens. Having a sense of what you can say, “forget that, it isn’t as important as this” can really help you when the pressure is on. REQUIREMENTS are only required because you decided that they served one of the three tiers. AESTHETIC GOALS are easy to deprioritize when they don’t directly feed into the SUPPORTING & PAYOFF GOALS. The lowest SUPPORTING GOAL or two can often be cut as well. Let’s also remember that you don’t need to outright cut something to make it cheaper/faster/easier. Look at ways that you can simplify something, outsource the work, or get someone to sponsor it.

We make many of our High Standards decisions in the Last Mile. The REALITY is what is actually happening on-site based on all of your planning, goals, and requirements. If the projector with the sponsorship slides looks like crap, you need to deal with that (because it served one of the SUPPORTING GOALS in our fundraiser example). Rent a better one, change the screen material, call in an outside company…it doesn’t matter how you fix it but you have to fix it. It was a SUPPORTING GOAL for a reason.

To solve this exact issue, on one production we made a quick frame and stretched a few layers of cheap bedsheets over it. It wasn’t professional but it was a vast improvement over what we had before and was the best we could do on the day of. On that same production (not to pick on them) we cut a few last-minute scenic concepts because we were running out of time to get the elements we had already started looking their best. I always say, “Do less, well!” because it is often the best choice. When faced with the REALITY of the event, you need to decide on what is most important and make sure it looks fantastic. Cut or reduce the things that will prevent that and are less important.

To reiterate the process: set a PAYOFF GOAL, set SUPPORTING GOALS, set AESTHETIC GOALS, and identify REQUIREMENTS to meet those goals. Then rank each list. Use the goals and requirements to explore and set your budget. Use it when budget cuts are needed. Use the REQUIREMENTS to make a schedule, place orders, and more. When you get to the REALITY of the on-site event, use the same ordered lists to polish your event. Polish most what is closest to the PAYOFF GOAL.

Next time, we are going to dig into building a Quality Schedule for your Last Mile (coming soon)!