After Special Events Meeting
A special event is something that is above ordinary. For us it could be a Kyu testing, Black Belt testing or something as big as our annual convention.
Regardless of the size it is important to meet and talk about this special event after it is executed. It does not have to be a formal meeting, a sit down can also do the task. Typically, the bigger the special event, the more formal the meeting should be.
The purpose of this "after special event" meeting is for quality and communication. While this is true for all types of special events, it is DEFINITELY more important for special events that you intent to repeat. In that scenario, lessons from the first event can assist in the follow up event. Even if this is not the case, the chances of you being a part of another special event is high and most lessons are universal.
Anyway, here are a couple of thoughts for this "after event meeting."
Congratulate everyone on their performance; This is a sound principle regardless of your standing in the group (i.e. the leader or one of the people on the bottom rung). In any special event, people went out of their way to assist and selflessly give their time to the betterment of others. In spite of your personal feelings on the quality of that person's performance, the effort is important to recognize and encourage.
Make a list of things that you thought went well or better than expected; It is very easy to look negatively at the things that could have been done better. However, accentuating and reenforcing the positive is what participants of the event will remember the most. Therefore, make a list of what you liked and how to make it better.
Make a list of things that didn't go like you hoped; Nothing, and I mean it, nothing goes according to plan and certainly nothing runs like the people who are running the event hope for. This isn't, necessarily, bad on the people who are running it - sometimes things do go the way they want. List these out, but don't beat yourself up about them.
Air out any grievances among the team; People can get on people's nerves. When working with loads of people, you will have loads of grievances. This can be bad, if left unchecked. Now it is never good to wallow in anything, but if there is something that is bothering someone, make sure it is attended it. Not everything is solvable, but everyone knowing what bothers other people can make for a more productive team.
Make a list of thoughts and ideas for the next event; This is the fun part, being creative. That being said, not everything can be executed. In most cases, only a few of them will. The best thing to do is write them down, while it is fresh on everyone's mind and - when planning the follow-up event - look at that list again.
The worst events all have good parts to them and the best events will always have something to improve. If our goal is to truly and continually move upwards, using these above thoughts will go a long way!