Why 10 Commandments?

Thou shalt practice self care

Avoid Burnout At All Costs

Take on small tasks and improvements

Give yourself office hours

Guard your time carefully

Your time is your biggest asset.

"No." is a complete sentence

Jennifer's First Law

A person's incompetence in email is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to the likelihood that they will massively waste your time

Define your personal scope

and don't go outside it!

Find a task tracking system that works for you

• Trello
• Physical Notepad
• Calendar to-dos

Own your calendar

Calendy - about as close as you can get to a personal secretary

Fielding Criticism

Learn to decipher it

It is extremely hard not to take criticism of your organization as a criticism of yourself

Build your network

• Find other community leaders
• Talk through problems
• Find a mentor
• Mentor budding community leaders

Ping me on twitter for slack inv -
https://communityorganizer-hq.slack.com

Learn to Delegate

Thou shalt become an expert communicator

Never assume people are as tuned in to your organization as you are

Choose your communication format based on your recipients.

When to Slack

• ✅ Convos where everyone is online & available
• ✅ Quick Q&A
• ✅ Random bullshitting/funny links
• ❌ Relaying important org-wide info
• ❌ Feedback
• ❌ Group brainstorming + decision making

Make things EASY for people with lists, call out important information

Date formatting - Day of week, date, time + timezone

If you want a response ...

End with a specific call to action by date

This WILL take more effort & time on your part - but will circumvent many headaches

Thou shalt manage expectations

People are not psychic.

People are not psychic.

People are not psychic.

“Well I thought it was going to be this …”

The better you can set people up for your events, the better the outcome & the less complaints you will get

“Oh you mean my REAL job?”

Volunteer organizations aren't restricted to traditional business restraints ... NOT

Crazies gonna Cray

Thou shalt not neglect thy volunteers

DO NOT MAKE YOUR VOLUNTEERS HERD CATS.

Make things easy for your volunteers

• Make parking and arrival instructions clear
• Have an emergency contact number available
• Have clear instructions, duties, and responsibilities for your volunteers
• As much as possible keep your volunteers out of the line of fire of criticism (see earlier "Crazies gonna Cray")

Plan your events ahead of time and give your volunteers plenty of notice.

Send reminder emails & create calendar invites - but ensure communication is clear and without conflicting instructions

DO NOT FORGET TO FEED YOUR VOLUNTEERS

Find Ways to Thank Your Volunteers

• Solicit their feedback AND act on it
• Offer leadership opportunities
• Provide nice volunteer shirts
• Plan appreciation dinners/parties
• Promote their efforts (social media, blog profiles)
• Nominate them for awards

Again, this WILL take more effort and time on your part - but it will keep your volunteers coming back.

Thou shalt plan as far in advance as calendarly-possible

It’s easier to set a 6 month timeline and fill in gaps as you go

Consistency is key - give people something they can regularly schedule

Will be easier to book speakers, volunteers, and venues in advance

If you have diversity goals, make an effort sooner rather than later.

Thou shalt confirm thy venue thrice

CYA

Vendors and venues have a lot more to focus on than just YOUR event

FOLLOW UP OR LOOK LIKE A JACKASS

As an event organizer it is your responsibility to ensure your event runs as advertised

Be a courteous venue guest

• Shout out on social media
• Clean up after yourself
• Don't overstay your welcome

Thou shalt arrive at least one hour before starting time

Setup will ALWAYS take longer than you expect

Your team or speakers WILL be late

Your attendees WILL show up early

Thou shalt test the wifi

(& bring any supplies needed)

No wifi or shoddy wifi will tank your event in a heartbeat

Test venue setup ahead of time if possible

Have contact information for the person who can reset the router

Bring all the dongles

Your speaker may forget, but it's your event on the line.

Thou shalt have a designated chaos lead

Murphy's Law

What can go wrong will go wrong

There will always be problems you can't plan for

Leadership or mentors with dedicated roles can't be running around to solve problems on the fly.

Thou shalt focus on process improvement wherever possible

Retrospectives are your best friend

What went well?

What didn't go well?

What could we do better next time?

Repeat emails -> FAQs page

Identify your pain points

& work on those first

Streamline check-in process

Automate posts to social media wherever possible

Begin Gathering Data ASAP

This will take process work, but is worth it's weight in gold.