Planner Resilience: Kay Granath, Granath Consulting

How were you able to adapt during COVID-19 when the meeting and events industry got disrupted?

When the pandemic occurred, I was at a crossroads in my career. After a long career with one company ended, I was presented with the opportunity to make some changes. I started consulting with several groups and COVID came along. Trying to decide what type of work in the Association and Meetings industry I wanted to concentrate on, the pandemic gave me the opportunity to take a step back from the travel and hectic schedule and look at what I really wanted to do for the next chapter. Fortunately, I had the family support and ability to work from home to start my journey. Now I finally had the time!

Here’s what I know to be true:

1. I love the meeting planning/event industry
2. I have a wide and rich network of colleagues to call on for support
3. I have a willingness to learn new things and adapt/change things that are no longer relevant
4. Meetings will come back integrating face to face, virtual & hybrid formats

I decided to use this time to do the things I failed to devote time to while working full-time, such as:

• Attend webinars on diverse topics
• Learn about new products and services that I couldn’t use in past positions
• Connect with colleagues and maintain relationships
• Review a lifetime career
• Create a “To Don’t” List,
  • What are the time wasters, what I disliked, and what can I do in a different way
• Select the people and groups that I wanted to work with
• Search for new and exciting aspects of my profession
• Stay engaged and informed about the new direction my profession is experiencing

I’m still on the journey and still working on the answers to these questions:

1. How can I use my experience to help others during and after this unusual time?
2. What is going to change after the pandemic?
3. What do I really want to do?

Meeting Planning makes you resilient. We’ve all learned to deal with situations we were faced with and move forward. The Show must go on! The pandemic is just another situation we need to deal with.

This post is part of the HopSkip Planner Spotlight Series where we celebrate the positivity and optimism shown by planners across the industry when navigating the turbulent waters that COVID-19 has brought the meetings and events industry.   Keep an eye out as we release more stories like this over the next few months.