To kick off a new three-part series, we ponder the ways that friction often emerges in event planning … and why, sometimes, that’s OK.

By Ernie Smith

As an event planner, when the rubber meets the road, you want to keep moving. After all, you’ve got lots of moving parts in the air at all times.

But friction is an inevitability, and something that can create major headaches whenever it emerges. Whether it’s logistical issues—a shipment doesn’t show up on time—or the perils of busywork, it can really be a drag on the whole process. It can even directly affect attendees—be it a long line for the bathroom, or a technical issue that keeps an event from starting on time.

“I always think of it as anything that gets in the way of you doing your job,” says Brandt Krueger, a longtime event production manager and educator in the events industry.

If you’ve been an event planner for a long time, you likely have your war stories about how logistical nightmares caused serious problems. Krueger has a few of his own—how trucks showed up in the wrong place because the wrong data was placed in the wrong box on a spreadsheet. Good event planners are often smart enough to manage things, but fixing every problem can be time-consuming.

And it’s highly prevalent across industries. A recent study from Dayforce found that 88% of companies experience some form of it, with ineffective communication, overly complicated processes, and a lack of resources being the most common reasons.

“Planners are so busy they don’t have the time to fix their own problems,” Krueger says. “And it’s usually very easy to do so, or at least could be very easy to do, if they just had the time.”

Naturally, that can lead to shortcuts, like artificial intelligence. And techniques like vibe coding have emerged as one way to solve the friction problem, but it’s not the only way, and it may not always be the best one. It’s often as much a work-process problem as a technological one.

With that in mind, here are a few ways to navigate the natural slowdowns that come with event planning:

Pick your battles: Not every fight with friction needs to be solved at this very moment. But it might help to at least point it out so that you have the space to find a solution. “When you hit a speed bump, just make a note of it somewhere,” Krueger says. Then when you have the time to actually analyze the problem, or stumble on a solution, the issue is fresh in your mind. “Do your little bit of research to see if there’s anything that you can do about it,” he says. Maybe you might find the solution. (And depending on its scale—say, a repetitive process that you keep running into yourself—that could be a potential AI opportunity. But if you have an IT team, Krueger suggests passing it by them first.)

Call in the reserves: No event planner knows everything, and building a solution for every single issue can be a huge time-suck. That’s where vendors can come in to save the day, expanding your reach and maybe even putting a little less pressure on your budget. But Krueger notes that it’s important to understand what you’re signing up for. “Coming from the live event production world as I do, that’s where I’ve seen it a lot: They think they’re pushing the easy button, but then they run into surprise fees.” If you’re bringing in someone new, be sure to closely analyze the contract before you commit.

Embrace useful friction: That said, not all friction is terrible. A Harvard Business Review piece once explained how “difficult business relationships” actually fostered innovation. Security is also a factor—after all, you want to ensure your physical security and cybersecurity are in check. This is doubly true in the AI era, given that AI agents often don’t know when to say no. “I would never let an agentic AI just go out on its own on the Web,” Krueger says. “The Web is a terrible place filled with a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than has ever been found.” Just because you can move fast and break things doesn’t mean that’s always a winning strategy.

Get proactive: Krueger says that event planning companies are typically working to get ahead of such problems so that they don’t turn into downstream headaches. “Good companies are going to be thinking proactively and empathetically about what our clients’ issues are, and how do we solve them quickly before they even know that it’s a problem,” he says. And that’s not just common sense—it’s got the backing of research. A recent benchmark from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research found that events that emphasized longer-term strategic planning often got ahead of big challenges and had better outcomes.

We’re keeping an eye on the way that friction can cause headaches in the event world, and we’ll be talking more about it in the coming months. Watch this space.