The very first thing that anyone, or any group, needs to do is to decide what type of event is going to be held. That is crucial because everything else stems from that - the nature and length of the time-line, the budget and cost analysis, the strategic planning, the logistics, everything. For first timers it is important to be very realistic on what is possible, given the resources available, and what can be done with the experience that everyone has.

It is usually a good idea to start out with something small, like a public circle, than it is to try for something like a major festival with workshops and guest speakers. Doing one will develop skills and abilities that can provide the necessary training for other, bigger projects.

Once you have a project in mind - like a Sabbat campout - then a time-line needs to be developed. What this means is a sequential list of tasks that need to done in a certain order. Especially when tasks are delegated to others, this is invaluable because it acts as a checklist to which people can be held accountable.

I'll take a "for instance" and follow it through as a means of illustration.

Suppose that a coven decided to have a campout ritual for Lughnassad. Where I live in Arizona the first of August is unbearably hot so many people will often plan camping trips to the mountains around Flagstaff and other parts of the state that have high elevations and cooler temperatures. Some of the campsites are only two hours drive from Phoenix and are in the cool pines.

The Park Service has some very nice campsites that can be reserved for a nominal fee. They are private, have bathroom facilities and some even have running water available. However, they are very popular. Some sites are booked over a year in advance.

Doing a planning session in July for a campout in August is a sure guarantee that it ain't going to happen.

If a coven wanted to plan a Lughnassad campout, they would need to start planning now - for next year. The first item on the time-line would be to secure the campsite, or at least appoint a committee to look into available sites and render a decision. Factors that should be taken into account would be privacy, facilities and site location. Some sites can be reached relatively easy, and others with some degree of difficulty. Usually the sites that are difficult to reach also have a shorter waiting list - for good reason - so the tradeoffs have to be considered.

Other points on the timeline have to do with getting the word out. If you wanted to put notices in local and national Pagan publications the appropriate publication date would have to be decided upon and then the submission date for that publication date would have to be on the time-line. If a publication comes out quarterly, for instance, you would want the publication that preceded the issue closest to Lughnassad. This gives people time to plan and prepare for an event. Sometimes publications want camera ready copy before a specific date - that would be the date on the timeline.

Tiered notices could also be sent out to local and nearby occult shops and bookstores. A good policy is to have flyers on hand three or four months in advance to give people time to prepare and make decisions. Flyers could also be sent out the following months to replenish those that were taken. Flyer distribution dates would also be on the timeline.

Closer to the event the timeline begins to get more crowded. Different people or groups would have certain tasks that had to be done in preparation. A pre-event group may go up several days early to get things set up. Supplies may have to be picked up and delivered. If people are carpooling, then times and rendezvous places would be included as well.

In a sense a timeline can also be a checklist. Whoever is the administrator can use the timeline to make sure that the scheduled tasks have been taken care of. In some cases certain tasks are dependent on other tasks being done in a proper sequence. If someone fails to do a certain task that is "upstream" of the dependent tasks, then there is a risk of the schedule falling apart and then last minute "band aids" have to be applied.

When coming up with a timeline one of the tasks facing an administrator is putting the appropriate people in the right places. Having a person who is warm, friendly and outgoing, but is terrible at organization, in a place that doesn't require people skills but does require organizational ability is as big a mistake as putting someone with lousy people skills in a public relations position.

Administration is the art of putting the right person in the right spot, and then knowing when to back off. The worst managers are those who feel the need to constantly "micro-manage" each and every situation.

Timelining is a management tool that can make a difficult job much easier. The next post I will discuss cost and budget analysis.

(c) Lord Joshu (Ken Hall) 2002
Originally from the Pagan Clergy list (pagan-clergy@yahoogroups.com)

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