The largest tree on earth is a Sequoia in California as tall and as thick as the Statue of Liberty.

It has been growing on that rocky crag for thousands of years. And in the very very beginning? It was a seed the size of an oat flake.

Big events all start similarly. The TED convention grew out of one person’s momentary realization that there was a crossover between all their friend’s fields: technology, education, and design (hence “TED”). The Oscars started as one person’s idea to get actors, writers, and the whole set talking. Girls Who Code was started by a congresswoman who noticed very few girls in computer science classes. 

In this lesson, we explore that idea in full—and how to start generating a seed of an idea that grows far beyond your wildest dreams.

Everything sprouts from a single seed

Compelling event stories always begin with a seed.

This is the inciting idea, the notion from which everything else grows. Many event producers jump to the logistics, but this is a mistake. I cannot implore this enough: Do not begin planning the what, where, and how of the event until you know the who and why.

As in, who are we doing this for, and why? How do we hope it changes them? (Recall, the hero must always undergo change.) It could be a product launch you want them to know about or you want to convert your sales team from indifferent to enthusiastic. Or it’s a conference and you want every attendee to leave with one person they will stay in touch with.

I’d also advise you not to look at competitors events yet. It will only box your thinking. Followers never become leaders; to mimic is to forever be one step behind. 

Instead, start with a seed, like one of our clients, Reckitt. 

They came to us to plan their annual sales kickoff and their “seed” was they wanted their sales organization to break last year’s sales record. 

We brainstormed. How could we make that ambitious goal seem near and inevitable? That led us to build the event around breaking a real world record. Not in something silly or random, but something meaningful—we planned to have them pack the world’s greatest number of backpacks for a local charity supporting kids in need.

The day of the event nobody knew it was coming. The executives announced it and suddenly everyone was pulling out boxes from beneath their tables and the Guinness Book of World Records team appeared with stopwatches and the room ran electric. When done, panting, they didn’t even know if they’d won. Not until the end of the kickoff did the judges return and with great suspense announce … they had. They’d broken a world record. Nobody forgot that. They also didn’t just go on to break the sales record that year. They shattered it.  

Part of what made that magical was the surprise; of doing something they’d never done but were capable of doing. Of having that story tie back to the company mission and for that connection to be clear—because it had all grown out of one seed of an idea. 

So how do you find your own seed? It comes from deeply knowing your audience. Who are they? What lights them up? What message do they need to hear? Maybe you plan galas, and know people’s favorite part of the night is cocktail hour where volunteers get to regale others with stories of their time abroad. Or maybe you run a skincare brand and attendees want photos with your celebrity founder.

Start with grounding in your customer’s true desires. Then brainstorm ideas without ever looking at a competitor. Make it about what you can uniquely do to show these unique people you understand them.

You’ll know you have a genuine seed when you share it with others and you can watch it grow in their mind; they get excited and tell you all the ways they can see it swell and expand.