Project Coordination and Event Planning

Managing Projects and Events with AI

🔄 Quick Recall: In the previous lesson, you learned to create presentations, reports, and board materials with AI. Now you’ll apply AI to the coordination side of your role — managing projects, planning events, and keeping multiple initiatives on track simultaneously.

Project coordination and event planning are where EAs prove their strategic value. These tasks require juggling dozens of moving pieces, coordinating across teams, and anticipating problems before they derail timelines. AI is the perfect partner for this work.

AI for Project Tracking

Most EAs manage or support multiple projects simultaneously. AI tools transform this from a manual tracking exercise into a proactive management system.

Setting up AI-powered project tracking:

Create a project tracking system for these initiatives:

1. [Project name] — Owner: [name], Deadline: [date], Status: [stage]
2. [Project name] — Owner: [name], Deadline: [date], Status: [stage]
3. [Project name] — Owner: [name], Deadline: [date], Status: [stage]

For each project, I need:
- Key milestones with dates
- Dependencies (which tasks block others)
- Risk indicators (what could delay this)
- Weekly status update template
- Escalation criteria (when to flag to [executive])

AI project management tools:

Tool	Best For	EA Advantage
Asana AI	Complex multi-team projects	AI generates tasks from meeting notes, suggests assignments
Monday.com	Visual project dashboards	AI automates status updates, flags bottlenecks
ClickUp AI	All-in-one workspace	AI writes project summaries, creates subtasks
Notion AI	Documentation-heavy projects	AI organizes wikis, generates status reports

The weekly executive brief:

Using these project status updates, generate an executive brief for [executive name]:

[paste collected status updates from all projects]

Format:
- One paragraph summary (overall portfolio health)
- Green/Yellow/Red status for each project with one-line explanation
- Top 3 items needing executive attention or decision
- Key milestones in the next 2 weeks
- Recommended actions

Keep it to one page. Flag risks prominently.

✅ Quick Check: Why flag risks prominently instead of burying them in the update? Because executives value early warnings over pleasant surprises. If a project is slipping, your executive wants to know now — when they can intervene — not in three weeks when the deadline has passed. Flagging risks is one of the most valuable things an EA can do. It builds trust and prevents fire drills.

AI for Event Planning

Events range from small executive dinners to large company offsites. AI handles the logistics so you can focus on the experience.

Step 1: Generate a comprehensive checklist.

Create a detailed planning checklist for this event:

Type: [executive offsite / board dinner / company all-hands / client event]
Attendees: [number and type — executives, clients, full company]
Duration: [half day / full day / multi-day]
Location: [city / on-site / TBD]
Budget: [range]

Include every logistical category:
- Venue selection criteria and booking
- Catering (dietary requirements collection, menu planning)
- Travel and accommodation (if applicable)
- Technology setup (AV, presentations, video conferencing)
- Agenda and programming
- Materials and supplies
- Communications (invitations, reminders, follow-ups)
- Budget tracking
- Timeline with milestones
- Contingency plans

Step 2: Draft vendor communications.

Draft an email to [venue/caterer/AV company] requesting:

Event: [type and description]
Date: [date] with [alternate date] as backup
Attendees: [number]
Requirements: [specific needs]
Budget: [range or "please provide a quote"]

Tone: professional and specific. Include all details they need to provide an accurate quote.

Step 3: Manage RSVPs and dietary requirements.

Create an RSVP tracking spreadsheet with columns for:
- Name, email, RSVP status (yes/no/pending)
- Dietary restrictions or allergies
- Travel arrangements needed (yes/no)
- Special requirements or notes
- Follow-up reminder date for non-responders

Draft a follow-up email for people who haven't responded by [date].

✅ Quick Check: Why collect dietary requirements at the RSVP stage instead of later? Because dietary needs affect venue selection, caterer choice, and menu planning — decisions you make early in the process. Discovering that 8 attendees are vegetarian after you’ve finalized a steakhouse venue creates expensive problems. Early collection prevents last-minute scrambles.

Coordinating Cross-Department Initiatives

When your executive sponsors initiatives that span multiple departments, AI helps you stay on top of everything:

Automated status collection:

Draft a weekly status check-in email for project owners:

Subject: [Project Name] — Weekly Status Update (due [day])

Ask for:
1. Progress since last update (brief)
2. Key accomplishments this week
3. Blockers or risks (if any)
4. Help needed from [executive name] (if any)
5. On track for next milestone? (yes/no)

Tone: friendly, clear, easy to respond to quickly.
Include a deadline for responses so you can compile the brief on time.

Compiling responses into a dashboard:

Once responses come in, AI consolidates them:

Compile these project updates into a one-page executive dashboard:
[paste all responses]

Format as a table:
| Project | Status | Progress | Key Risk | Needs Decision |
Use Green/Yellow/Red for status based on whether milestones are on track.

Key Takeaways

AI project tracking is proactive, not reactive — it flags risks before deadlines pass, improving on-time delivery from 47% to 61%
Generate comprehensive event checklists from AI, then apply your judgment about venue, experience, and attendee preferences
Automate weekly status collection from project owners — AI sends templated requests and compiles responses into executive briefs
Always collect dietary requirements and special needs at the RSVP stage, not after venue decisions are made
Flag risks prominently in executive updates — early warnings build trust and prevent fire drills

Up Next: You’ll build your personalized AI toolkit — selecting, configuring, and integrating the best tools for your specific workflow.