Essay 4.10 | How Did We Do?

One post-COVID virtual event reached more people at far less cost than its in-person predecessor. On paper, that looked efficient. More reach, lower spend, easier access. The spreadsheet seemed happy.

Then the people it was built for said it “sucked, sucked!”

That phrase matters because it cuts through the temptation to measure only what is easy. Attendance, cost per participant, satisfaction score, leads scanned, sessions watched, downloads, social impressions, and survey averages all have value. But none of them, alone, can answer the deeper question: did the gathering do what it was created to do for the people it was created to serve?

“How did we do?” sounds simple. It is not. A purposeful event may need to build trust, shift belief, deepen relationships, teach a skill, move pipeline, reward performance, create belonging, launch a product, retain fans, inspire donors, or help people make sense of change. Different purposes require different evidence.

The danger is measuring the event we can count rather than the event we meant to create. A room can be full and fail. A smaller gathering can change the trajectory of a relationship. A virtual experience can reach thousands and still leave the core audience cold. A standing ovation can hide confusion. A complaint can reveal a design flaw worth fixing.

Good measurement begins before the event, not after. What are we trying to move? For whom? What would count as evidence? What signals will appear during the experience? What should change afterward? Who will tell us the truth?

The best evaluation also resists defensiveness. It treats feedback as a way to honor participants, not as an attack on the makers. When something fails, the question is not how to spin the report. It is what the failure teaches about the next gathering.

Measurement should help us become more honest. It should tell us whether people merely attended or whether the gathering enabled something worth the time, money, attention, and trust they gave us.

Acts of Humanity: The Power of Purposeful Events — releasing August 11, 2026. Learn more or pre-order at actsofhumanitythebook.com. #ActsOfHumanityTheBook