The mega-show. It seems that every industry has one. You know the signs: Show manuals the size of phone books, more regulations than Congress, and planning calendars that start decades in advance.

You also know the stakes are high for this major industry event — be it the biennial International Manufacturing Technology Show, the triennial International Plastics Exposition, or the quintennial Print show. For your mega-show, only novel, up-to-date offerings will do. Your R&D group is working overtime; you know all too well your competition is doing the same.

For exhibit managers, the mega-show is a different — and more menacing — beast than your usual show. You feel like your job is on the line. Succeed, and kudos are yours. Fail, and the consequences could be grim.

Drawing on personal experience managing shows both here in the United States and in Europe for the Plastics Machinery Division of Johnson Controls Inc., I have concluded that, regardless of industry, mega-shows have four main attributes in common: Time, competition, internal pressures, and expanded opportunities. Let's take a look at each.

Schedules seem painfully long when you sign a space contract 18 months before opening day. But the hours quickly squeeze to a short supply during those final days before ribbon cutting. The most critical time constraints: Your planning time and your at-show time.

How well you use your planning time is crucial when it comes to the mega-show. You will need to appreciate the concept of being "on time" vs. "before" or "after" time. And that's not all. On occasion, you may decide that some of these deadlines should be ignored for a greater savings in another area of the project.

For example, target date assignments for the arrival of shipments often carry penalty charges for freight coming in early or late. But it might be advantageous to pay such premiums to bring in other things (such as the panels for your second-deck conference room) after the target date. Why? Aisle space is quickly consumed by crates, and stray components that aren't needed until the end of setup can impede construction. Though you pay a penalty charge, in the long run it may be cheaper than paying an I&D crew to constantly shuffle materials around the booth as they work.