The two faces of time

Time does not play one, but two fundamental roles in organising and managing projects.

The first is that of temporariness: every event has a starting point and a time limit. Careful foresight in the use of time allows for maximum results. The objective of project time management is to define, plan and control the time sequence of project activities.

The following steps are performed for the time scheduling phase:

– identification of the project start date

– identification of the start and end dates of each activity

– identification of possible intermediate control points binding the general schedule.

– calculation of possible slippages by activity.- Identification of the project end date

Time management is also essential during the event; imagine the excessive duration of a speech rather than an inexorable catering service. Both would cause discomfort for the user as well as an inevitable deviation from the planned schedule.

I insist a lot with my staff on constantly monitoring and controlling the time during the event; it is necessary in every area (registration, speeches, catering, etc.) to offer an attentive, punctual service within the established timeframe: today, exceeding the timeframe means touching the patience of the guests.

And then there is the weather, a sore point in front of which the organisers find themselves helpless. When holding an outdoor event, the arrival of adverse weather conditions means managing a difficulty. It would therefore be appropriate to have an alternative solution, the so-called “Plan B”.

I remember an event that makes me smile when I think of it now, but I would have cried that day. It was in July, a dinner for about 200 guests for a charity event. In the early afternoon preparations began: stage with audio and video service, table and chair arrangement, mise en place, etc. Suddenly the wind started to blow and the sky began to cloud over. The morning weather forecast had suddenly changed. I called one of the weather centres with which I have a direct relationship and they explained to me that due to a change in the currents it could have rained in the late evening. We had to move everything from the outside garden to the inside of this Venetian villa. It was a race against time, both in terms of time for the arrival of the guests, and in terms of weather to avoid the possible storm. The guests didn’t notice anything because upon their arrival the preparations were already over.

Sometimes plan B is not possible and this is a terrible situation to be in, a risk to be taken. A few years ago, still during the summer, we set-up for the entire day what would have been a Ristogolf event the following day. It would have been… because a summer storm arrived and prevented the golf competition from taking place. We also incurred a considerable financial loss, as we were contractually bound to strict cancellation policies, but for us, the safety of people and their peaceful participation came first.

In conclusion, we often say: ‘I wish I had more time!’, ‘We needed more time!’ and consider this a constraint, a limitation.  Time, however, can be a resource if it is used as effectively as possible.