Two of the organizations I am involved with recently had “Big Days,” even though the big days were very different.

At church the big day was Easter.  For most churches – the one I serve included – Easter is the highest attended Sunday of the year.  For that reason alone, it is a big day.  On Easter we do our best to bring our “A” game.  This Easter, to be honest, I think we did.  The worship music was great, the message seemed to connect, and we had many people show up after the service asking for prayer and seeking spiritual conversations.

I bet your organization has “Big Days” that are calendar events.  I recently consulted with an organization that derives 40% of its revenue from a week-long festival it sponsors.  That is not a “Big Day;” that’s a “Big Week!”  In processing this with them, they confessed that after their “Big Week” they were all exhausted.

I get that.  I take a nap every Easter afternoon.  But unlikely some churches I know, we do not give the whole staff the day off after Easter.  If you are in retail, don’t close the store the day after the big sale.  The Day after the “Big Day” is the day to follow up, evaluate, and plan for the next “Big Day.”

Maybe you can’t do all three the day after the “Big Day.”  But above all else, do the follow up. If you are a church, call every first-time guest who came Easter.  Write the thank you notes the day after the “Big Day” to the people who made it happen.  Celebrate with your team the wins.  Gather the stories that made the “Big Day” sparkle.

Don’t put off the evaluation.  Did you meet your goals?  Why or why not?  It surprises me that so many businesses rush head long into the next thing, they never evaluate.  Evaluation has a rapid expiration date.  The little details that make a difference fade quickly.  Be sure to write the details down. 

The best time to plan next year’s “Big Day” is within two weeks of this year’s “Big Day.”  The plan doesn’t have to be comprehensive but start while memories of what worked and what didn’t are fresh.  Don’t assume because something was good this year, it will be just as good next year.  Add value to the good things; kill what didn’t work.

The other organization that I serve is our family ranch.  We had a very different type of “Big Day.”  Ironically, on Easter week we got the report on our late oranges.  They were picked and we got paid.  I saw the data on how many boxes of fruit we picked, the sugar levels, and the price we got.  Thanks to a freeze last year and a hurricane, the crop was dismal.  This “Big Day” was a bitter disappointment.  I thought we would pick more fruit than last year, even with the natural disasters. 

When you face this kind of “Big Day” news, you have to ask, “What am I supposed to learn from this?”  What I learned was rehabilitating the ranch’s orange groves has not yet taken hold.  I learned other ranch enterprises will need to support the citrus operation for another year or two.  I learned the grove that looks terrible actually produces as much fruit as the grove that looks the best – go figure. 

Some “Big Days” are like that:  It is the day you learn where you are and where you need to go.

The “Big Day” really isn’t over until you have followed up.  Otherwise you miss half the value of the “Big Day.”