Recently compiled by the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) this extemporaneous-esque advice-on-networking video is applicable to anyone of any age seeking to network effectively.
“IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience” is a free downloadable eBook on the tenets and methodologies we use to…create compelling experience. Find it in the iBooks app on any Apple device or in iTunes at this link. .
I came across this bit of ridiculousness in a LinkedIn post, a few weeks back…
“Confidence: Fake it till you make it! Nobody wants an insecure leader or employee. If you don’t know what you are doing, act like you know what you’re doing until you know what you are doing. Preparation is key because when you prepare, you feel genuinely confident and others trust that you know what you are doing because…well, you do. Attitude is everything, and the mind achieves what the mind believes.”
“Fake it till you make it!” What a load of bunk.
This is what got Wall Street into trouble; this is a gung-ho “Sales Team of the ’70’s” attitude that undermines credibility and depletes integrity from any environment. A leader who “fakes” knowledge and experience – in any industry and specifically in production, show and entertainment – is not a Leader at all.
S/he is a Fake: and that fakery will show up in the quality of the Product and be reflected in the attitude of the Team.
The second sentence is true, actually; nobody wants an insecure leader…ironically in this case, an exceptionally pithy example of insecurity is a manager or ostensible leader who is “faking it.”
As a leader, one is much better off being secure in what one does not know; knowing where to find and learning how to apply such knowledge sought and found. Learning alongside one’s team engenders an authentic, profound respect from one’s colleagues and teammates.
A secure leader doesn’t have to actually know everything; a leader who isn’t afraid to learn will earn a far more solid position among peers, superiors and subordinates.
A leader who can learn teaches humility and learning ability. A leader who “fakes it” teaches his team to lie. (…and probably laugh behind his back at his delusion that anyone is being fooled…)
In my business, there are Producers who are known for acting as though they know everything about Production. These guys get in the face of Lighting Designers, Production Coodinators, Choreographers, Composers, Riggers and Stagecraft Professionals and attempt to second-guess the work and process of others who’ve spent years focused on the area(s) of theatre to which they are committed…committed to being the best at what they do.
Those are Producers who give Producers a bad name.
Then, there are the Real Producers.
A Real Producer knows to stand back; to inspire his experts and let these experts do their best work…knowing when good work is being done and supporting the team in doing it. A Leader Inspires; embraces learning, learns from the people on her team and keeps the team moving in the right direction; eyes focused on the ultimate vision of the show.
Nobody knows Everything About Production. Everyone brings experience, knowledge and passion to their jobs. A leader learns of that experience and seeks to benefit from it; a leader appreciates the knowledge his team members bring to the table and embraces the passion with which that knowledge is applied.
This doesn’t mean “don’t talk to your technicians” or anything like that. Not at all. Clear communication of vision, goals and objectives is key to success. Further, asking one’s professionals how they are accomplishing the work is often appreciated by those pros…when the question is based in seeking knowledge (rather than seeking some sort of “advantage”).
Collaboration alleviates obfuscation, nurtures and incites creativity and strengthens relationships.
Likely, everyone on the team appreciates being asked about what they do and sharing their own knowledge and experience. Asking them is acknowledging their expertise. It shows appreciation for the work and focus one’s team member has put in to being the best at what s/he does.
Learn from your team; the decisions you make, your artistic, logistical and even dramaturgical choices will be the better for it.
So. Rather than “fake it till you make it…”
How about…
“Learn It and You’ll Earn It”?
Just sayin’.
Integrity.
In closing, a note on Integrity. This is a word often thrown around by the self-righteous when things aren’t going their way. Integrity is not a casual thing, and one cannot be selective in meaning what one says and keeping one’s word.
Integrity is a constant discipline.
One must be committed to doing what one says; committed to one’s word being always dependable. Should that which makes the keeping of a given agreement change, Integrity calls for immediate acknowledgement of that change.
There is no “play” in this: the keeping of one’s word is paramount. Acknowledging one’s mistakes and taking responsibility for resolution is an act of Integrity. Realizing one cannot keep one’s word and taking steps to acknowledge and rectify that is Integrity. There is no escaping daily opportunities for embracing Integrity. Not always easy, actions of Integrity often result in stronger personal and professional relationships, healthier reputations, respect and credibility granted from one’s peers.
Once one begins to evaluate where one’s word has been given and whether or not one’s word is worth keeping after the fact; one has departed the realm of Integrity and crossed into another.
IMHO – Keep Your Word.
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“IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience” is a free downloadable eBook on the tenets and methodologies we use to…create compelling experience. Find it in the iBooks app on any Apple device or in iTunes at this link. .
Global Village Dubai – One Month Out
A short while ago, my Esteemed Colleague, Disney Imagineer, Professor, Thought Shaper of the Future and Iconic Experience Design Chick, MK Haley, posed some questions to a few of us about designing for an international audience. Her purpose is the building of a new module for her Experience Design class, and if you are lucky enough to be one of her students you are in for a boffo semester.
(“Boffo” is a sophisticated design term.)
In case you are not one of her lucky few, I’m sharing my own responses for consideration and discussion amongst yourselves (or amongst yourself, if you live and work alone: in which case, keep it down. If others hear you discussing with yourself, it could make for awkwardness and possibly end badly).
Herewith, then; the Professor’s Questions and IMHO…
I’d say the value of this as part of one’s immediate postgraduate curriculum is integral to success in the field; especially in art and experience design.
First and foremost; until one has actually done design work in the field, seen one’s work built or installed and participated in the practical process, one’s work is likely to be myopically academic.
No matter where the work is done; once you’ve seen the design in physical dimension, seen how people interact with or pass through (or past) it, seen the effect of rain, wind, snow, dust, children…the physics of physicality. Only then does one have a true sense of how the thing will manifest in reality.
So, field work is essential to one’s professional development.
International field work takes things quite a bit further.
So, Looking and Listening are the first things to do a lot of when parachuting into another culture.
Remember: what you have from being educated at <insert name of amazing design school or university> or have been trained at <insert name of coveted design company or theme park brand> still, are simply Tools and Philosophies.
You don’t have experience. To gain experience, one must work in the field. So, go.
And when you get there, pay attention. Even experienced professionals make the mistake of thinking their position or previous experience in other companies or contexts qualifies them to make judgements and give immediate direction. It does not. Get to know the culture and the people who live that culture before depending entirely on previous experience. Context is everything.
2) Is it fun?
3) Is it hard?
4) How are you different or better from having had the opportunity to work across cultures?
So, especially, I appreciate the freedom of movement I have as a Western White Guy, and I keep that at the forefront of my mind as I move through any culture or context, whether it be professional, recreational or just shopping for groceries.
5) What unique challenges are there?
6) How has it been on your family?
So, them’s my responses and ancillary thoughts on today’s topic. Field work is imperative. Foreign field work can make one a better artist and a better person. I say seek it out. Get out there and test your design ideas along with your preconceptions about Life.
Learn, Do, Grow.
IMHO.
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“IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience” is a free downloadable eBook on the tenets and methodologies we use to…create compelling experience. Find it in the iBooks app on any Apple device or in iTunes at this link.
Security Pin/ID for 1994 GGIV Opening Ceremonies, designed by Steve Boyd
Give Everything Away.
Take Responsibility.
Be Responsible.
That’s it. That’s all y’gotta do.
As a Production Executive, Creative Executive or Director, Producer or any combination thereof; these three practices will set you up and keep you in a position of effective, essential power and influence.
You already know that, no matter how fantastic one’s own original vision of a production or project may have been; it is likely, virtually assured, that after having shared it with your team and having collaborated and tested and massaged it through design and production to launch or show it is far better, more compelling and resonant for having opened it up to collaboration and contribution with and by your team.
Be sure they know that you know that. Walk that talk and it will come back to you in spades.
Give Everything Away.
I’m talking credit, here; acknowledgement. Put your people in the spotlight as they create or deliver exceptional or exemplary work.
Everyone already knows you are The One, the Creative Visionary, the Impresario Producer…that you drive the Idea or Concept and the Team…are In Charge. The world already knows that. My suggestion is to be relaxed and secure in your position and give all the credit to those who deliver for you.
So, when someone comes up to you after seeing your show or experiencing the thing you made and says, “Oh, Kile (if, in fact, your name is Kile); that was amazing! I still can’t get over The Moment when <whatever impressed them> happened: I will remember that for the rest of my life! THANK YOU!” That is your opportunity to publicly and graciously point to and acknowledge the person or team that made that one component happen for you; throwing attention and accolade their way.
“You know who did that? That was David, John and Melissa; they’re right over there, I’d appreciate it if you’d go over and tell them what you just told me. In fact, let me introduce you…”
…or some practical form of immediate acknowledgement…
Push and promote those who have delivered for you; it only makes you look generous and supportive and ego free…and we know you are at least two of those things, anyway…
The rewards and benefits of such a stance are legion. I can attest to the good feeling of handing off compliments, the power of the trust that is built and grows when your team knows you respect and appreciate them and the security that exists and builds in knowing that these professionals will likely jump with alacrity at the chance to work again with someone who treats them fairly and who readily shares the Glory.
And who pays them on time. (We’ve talked about this…)
So, what am I talking about?
Take Responsibility
Responsibility of The One in Charge extends well beyond the Production, itself.
Finally, Be Responsible
Words are one thing; actions quite another. A Solid Leader pays attention to the little things that might be overlooked or fall between the cracks in a large bureaucracy.
This does not mean be a micromanager. For that, I will lead the mob with stakes and torches in hand. (There is, I hope, a special place in whatever Afterlife there may be for Micromanagers.) What it means is that, as a production ramps up and the work is getting done; the One in Charge must be sure the team is being supported by the infrastructure. Payments are made on time, insurance is carried and covered, breaks are taken and people are fed…and that craft services has carbs, protein and abundant amounts of chocolate and sugar.
Seriously: it is not unusual for a show to close or a project to wrap with a vendor or freelancer not yet paid. It should be unusual but it isn’t, unfortunately. Sometimes things move fast, invoices get lost, payment is assumed but not actually delivered. Many such things can result in that one payment not happening.
When this happens, the One Who Was in Charge remains responsible for the clearing of accounts. You may be on to another project, as may the individual or vendor the former client owes your team member. But being separated from the project is irrelevant; it remains your responsibility see to it that that artist or technician is paid…especially if you are ever going to want work from that person, again.
These are your relationships to protect.
Developing and maintaining a reputation for being committed to the well-being and professional treatment of those who work under you will ultimately give you a great reputation for respecting your people…and will result in those people trusting you, implicitly, and returning to you in the future.
Anecdotally; this is how it has played out for me…
I do work in theme parks, for non-profits and NGO’s, for corporations. When I have a good budget and a well-paying gig, I pay my teams accordingly … and always on time. The men and women who have worked for me in stadiums, theatres, Urban Malls and ballrooms have been doubt-free about the respect (and often awe) in which i hold and treat them. We get great results, every time.
(Well, there was that one time…)
At other times, when I have accepted a project for a weakly-funded charity or smaller entity; I can reach out to these same people, sharing with them the fact that “…there’s no money in this one…,” and they remain highly likely to jump onboard and join me on the project, because:
Not a bad reputation to have. Not a bad offer to make. Good practice for work and life.
To the point of the title of this piece; it is working in this way that will ensure the power to attract good people to do good work, it is working in this way that will offer the reputation for edge, for creativity, for creating healthy collaborative and fun environments that yield compelling experiences, it will make your teams attractive to others, lessen the amount of coal in your stocking at Christmas and lower the number of voodoo dolls made in your image.
Make sense?
Hope so.
IMHO
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“IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience” is a free downloadable eBook on the tenets and methodologies we use to…create compelling experience. Find it in the iBooks app on any Apple device or in iTunes at this link.
A Shout-Out to TEA NextGen, their Mentors and their Inspirational Leaders, attending SATE at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh . I know that things are going swimmingly during these two days of revelation, breakthrough, enlightenment and the Business of Show. I came across this pithy editorial yesterday and, with permission from the author, thought it a Propitious Moment to share it with specific thought to the aspiring networkers and the aggressively networked during this forum.
There are some pertinent thoughts, here; watchwords for those just beginning to create their professional personae as well as reminders for those already Running Things. Paying attention to Mr. Wayman’s three suggestions will serve you and the people with whom you work. These should not be taken lightly.
I can say that in the course of my own Experience and self-education, I’ve sometimes failed to adhere to these simple disciplines and have paid the price: it is never worth it.
From Below or from Above, it is best to always behave Honorably and with Integrity: treat people with Respect.
With that: this “reprint:”
My monthly newsletter goes out to 6,000 friends, clients and business partners. You can’t “subscribe” to it or buy it. It’s my way of staying in touch with friends. For my clients, it’s a benefit of doing business with me. My way of saying thank you for their business and support. My day job is top Headhunter in the gaming industry, where I place about 50 top executives each year.
Each month I get a dozen wonderful emails thanking me for the newsletter, and for all the time I dedicate to creating and distributing it. Industry executives enjoy reading about the latest industry news and what’s going on with their peers. It’s a small world, and everybody knows everybody. Life is grand…except for that ONE GUY.
You know him, the guy that only calls you when he wants something. Never adds value; he is a taker. In my case, that ONE GUY has come to me multiple times for a job over the years. Because he has a new job every two years. The one time he actually gave me a search, he wasted 40 hours of my time, treated the candidates poorly, and never hired anyone. Could not get him to return a phone call or email.
So I made a business decision not to work with him. Not angry or bitter. Not judging or complaining. Moving on! As Joel Osteen states, “You only have so much emotional energy each day. Don’t fight battles that don’t matter.” It took that ONE GUY a year to figure out he was off the newsletter and off my client list, at which point he sent me a nasty email explaining how important he is. I chose not to respond. Some battles are just not worth fighting. Here are several lessons we can learn from that ONE GUY.
Always Get Back to People – My Daddy used to say, “Return all your calls and messages. It’s the professional, respectful and right thing to do.” I return every phone call and email (500+ per day), even if my answer is a simple, “no thank you.”
Never Burn Bridges – His hate mail may sooth his bruised ego, but why would you want to get sideways with the top Headhunter in your industry? Better to shake hands and part friends.
Focus on the People That WANT to be on Your Bus – Not everyone is going to like you or want to work with you. Focus on the people that WANT to be your friend, that want to be your client, that want to be on your bus. There are only so many hours in the day. Spend them with the right people.
The Golden Rule – The people you pass on the way up are the same ones you will pass on the way down. No matter how brilliant, talented and cool you THINK you are, the only thing people will remember…is how you treated them.
Mark Wayman
The Vegas Headhunter – www.godfatherlv.com
In closing;
And with that, Fly High.
IMHO
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“IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience” is a free downloadable eBook on the tenets and methodologies we use to…create compelling experience. Find it in the iBooks app on any Apple device or in iTunes at this link.
Puy du Fou 3 July 15 courtesy of David Willrich
Money changes everything
Money, money changes everything
We think we know what we’re doin’
That don’t mean a thing
It’s all in the past now
Money changes everything
They shake your hand and they smile
And they buy you a drink
They say we’ll be your friends
We’ll stick with you till the end
Ah but everybody’s only
Looking out for themselves
And you say well who can you trust
I’ll tell you it’s just
Nobody else’s money
Thomas Gray for Cyndi Lauper – 1983
When all is said and done, this is about Respect.
You want to build a team, a network of people willing if not downright looking forward to working with you; to join your team and create amazing things, to return to your teams – time and again – and continue to build great things?
Well then:
Respect them, and show them they are Respected.
Respect the deals that are made and never make anyone have to ask for their money.
Of key importance is that we remember that:
Building a Team and a Network of Loyalty
Paying people on time; keeping money agreements (all agreements, really; but today’s topic is Money); these are a foundation for building and maintaining trusting, productive, fruitful ongoing relationships with vendors, freelance production professionals and talent…all with whom one works and with whom one hopes to work, again.
Frankly, it’s a great opportunity for reinforcing the bond that has been established through working together, after the curtain has dropped and during load-out, to be able to circulate among one’s crew and team, handing these men and women their envelopes, looking them in the eye while personally thanking them for the gift of their efforts, skills and talents in support of the vision…your vision that has likely become a collective vision as y’all’ve worked side-by-side on making it happen.
(In my case this process more often involves hugs and a few happy tears…but that’s just me.)
As a freelancer, back in my early days in San Francisco, I discovered that when I offered a 5% discount for being paid on the day of the event, the City of San Francisco would jump on that and I would be paid on the day of the event…saving me weeks of wondering when I’d see the money AND keeping relationships comfy and clean for years of successive projects at and around City Hall.
[Personal Note: I did try that “discount thing” here in Dubai, with the result that the client paid me a week late AND took the discount! So, that isn’t necessarily a foolproof technique.]
The point is that the actual payment of agreed-upon fees directly affects the working relationship. Keep it clean and free of doubt; it will come back to you a thousandfold in respect, loyalty, performance.
Now: About Time
Looking back across the table to deliverables and deadlines; again…
We’ve talked before about Time, specifically about the Power of Time with “Time and Timing” and the full grasp and mapping of Time in “Time & Timing – Rudiment to Complement” .
So, today, a brief rant-ette on the ramifications of inattention to Time.
Time Agreements – making and keeping them.
As freelance, staff, vendor or colleague; one’s Time Agreements are of vital imortance to the perceived integrity and very real dependability of oneself and the value of one’s word.
Just as the above conversation of payment on time supports Trust in Professional Relationships; so, too, do all Time Agreements serve to strengthen and support one’s integrity and the tenor of the Team one builds and with which one works.
As has been cited in this space, before: one person arriving ten minutes late to a meeting of six colleagues has effectively wasted 60 expensive minutes; a full hour of staff time. Lateness has a price in the micro and the macro; irrespective of the reason for it, there is rarely rationale.
…and the moment one knows one is not going to arrive / pay / deliver on time is the time to alert the concerned parties. Announcing one is late at the moment one is late is pointless; by then, that secret is already out. This applies, by the way, to ANY moment after people have begun to travel to gather for said meeting or function.
…And to perception. Meetings and professional commitments are not free-standing. People plan their days and work flow around meetings such that a cancellation even a few hours beforehand does not alleviate serious negative fallout. Companies staff up based on delivery schedules; failure to meet that schedule can cost significant amounts of money in lost or idle staff time (and overtime when running to compensate for your lateness). Be sensitive to the ramifications of failure to keep agreements, to keep one’s word.
People and companies make plans based on agreements made. Failure to adhere to agreements can have ramifications far beyond anything one might see or assume.
Don’t commit unless you can do it; and don’t fail to do it if you commit. Less than that is less than honorable. Respect your own word.
We are part of a team. Successive teams. Part of a relationship or network of relationships that depend on trust and integrity to function fully well. From Individuals to Agencies to Corporations; we are all bound to Keep Our Word; and no context is too small to merit full commitment to integrity.
No context is too small to merit full commitment to Integrity.
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Billions of readers throughout the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies have discovered “IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience.” A free, downloadable eBook on the tenets and methodologies we use to…create compelling experience. The book can be found in the iBooks app on any Apple device, in iTunes or at this link.
…thus critically, it must be learned through Experience.
If you graduated from Design or Production School anytime within the past three years; you are not yet ready to go out on your own.
Rarely, ever so rarely, does one graduate from school ready to open one’s own shop. Virtually everyone from Accountants to Engineers to Therapists and Physicians goes through something akin to an Apprenticeship before putting their own name on a door.
Does a doctor graduate Medical School, grab a scalpel and start transplanting hearts? Years of Residency await; closely supervised, mentored, to be guided through test after test, practice and more practice before s/he begins to Practice solo.
[I do not for a moment, btw, suggest that Experience Design and Production takes nearly the study that Medicine requires – I’m simply making the point that practice is a crucial component in the preparation for virtually any profession or craft.]
Just as any Professional must experience the practical application of the theories, disciplines and methodologies s/he’s learned in school in order to best use said learning with awareness of the random nuance that accompanies the Human Factor; so, too, must Designers and Creatives and Stage Managers and Producers see their work in three-dimensional (and now four-dimensional) presence in the field to truly know how what is created will play.
One must have actually Built It to Know It.
We have spoken of this, before, in “A Word to the Wise”. The subject arises, again now, due to a couple of recent experiences we’ve had, professionally.
These instances? A lecture given last year at EMDI Dubai and this year’s EMDI graduation ceremony.
I love teaching at EMDI and can’t get enough of those students (though may never again be invited, after this post is published); they are intelligent, earnest, committed, aspirational and they listen. But in class that night, during Q&A, after several questions about finding or “getting” clients, something dawned on me; so, I asked.
“How many of you are planning on opening your own Event companies after graduation?” Easily a third of the room raised hands.
I came back with, “Nooooo, nononono. That is not how you get clients. If anything, it is how you will get unhappy clients…” I explained that one must first work for others…a lot; working on an event from concept development all the way through production and load out; sweeping out dressing rooms, bringing water to testy talent, scheduling the loading dock, doing every little job there is that adds up to the Whole of the production.
That is where reputations are made, that is where the beginnings of a career actually take root. Years of working for other companies and Individuals is where one’s own reputation is forged. Being noticed for the work done, the creativity applied, the equanimity under pressure (look it up); that’s where Clients will come from.
Having “interned” by staffing events is good experience, but it is barely scratching the surface. Allow me to put a finer point on that: Staffing an Event is not an “internship” and, while it offers valuable experience, it does in no way render one “Experienced.”
Being a part of the team from the very beginning; discovering idiosyncrasies of clients, venues and vendors and ironing out obstacles and misunderstandings on the fly while keeping one’s production on schedule for curtain up on schedule and being fully responsible for anything that’s forgotten or overlooked is critical to one’s ultimate success as stage manager, production manager, producer, director, anything.
Having to solve one’s own mistakes.
Working three days on an event is not Production Experience; it is only a taste.
Only. A. Taste.
I believe it is the responsibility of Professional schools to emphasize the fact that these schools actually and realistically prepare the students to learn; a learning that will happen after graduation. No student should graduate with the expectation that s/he now knows everything needed to launch a businesses.
This is unfair to the students, vastly unfair to upcoming clients and ultimately deleterious to professionals in the Show and Experience industry, overall.
So. Are they being taught this? That is not my sense, here in Dubai.
Which brings me to last week’s Graduation Ceremony.
As a Production, it was pretty bad; as an event, it was average; as an Experience, it was disappointing; as a showcase for a Graduating Class of Event Professionals, it was downright embarrassing.
A part of me feels awful for saying this; as these students truly are great and most of them carry the potential for becoming good and excellent producers. A few came up to me during the event, asking if the night was going to merit “…better than a C-plus?” (That’s the grade I gave last year’s ceremony; which I had shared in class, this year…)
Plus; the students even gave me an award! Most cool…
Newly graduated men and women of EMDI; I feel a bit bad about this, but I can’t give that ceremony more than a C+. The lighting was better (thanks to ECLIPSE) and the room was prettier on entry; but beyond that, the event was so poorly designed and sloppily run that it elicited running commentary among the guest faculty and event professionals in the room throughout the night.
Specifically and not all-inclusively (diagrams at bottom of column):
“Don’t put your daughter on the stage, Mrs. Worthington.
Don’t put your daughter on the stage.
The profession is overcrowded,
And the struggle’s pretty tough,
And admitting the fact
She’s burning to act,
That isn’t quite enough…”
These young people are adults; they are old enough to be told the truth. If an act isn’t ready to present; that information should be shared with the Talent…lest they be subject to more public critique. Such as this…but more brutal.
Correcting for any of these above-cited production errors would cost precisely nothing.
But what rumbles beneath the surface here, what is cause for professional concern, the elephant in THIS room is the answer to the question;
“Is this what these kids are being taught is good production?”
Is this what they are off to emulate with their degrees?
EMDI is arguably the premiere Production Management school in the Middle East. That being the case, one would expect the graduation ceremony to be a sparkling showcase of their best work. Flawlessly designed and run with precision, style, professionalism and sophistication, the graduation event is a fantastic opportunity to impress Those Who Hire.
None of this costs money; all it takes is thought and planning.
I believe, strongly, that it is the responsibility of the school to espouse reaching for the best in Production Value; eschewing anything that falls short of the best possible work and sending new producers out into the world with a strong sense of quality of production…including attention to detail, mastery of Time and commitment to smooth and compelling experience.
Otherwise, why do this?
Do these graduates leave that evening thinking they’ve been a part of an excellent production?
If so, they are misled and mistaken and I, as a potential employer, am let down… these graduates, if that Graduation Ceremony is their Standard, are not prepared to deliver the best possible show, event or experience to any clients. While these students pay dearly for the education they get; do they leave there knowing that they need to do far better than their own graduation ceremony in order to be successful in this industry?
If, on the other hand, this is just a party for family and friends; maybe stop inviting professionals and do a separate showcase.
A Final Note:
In my experience, I have worked with scores of EMDI undergrads on other events; finding some who rise to the occasion, some who are a tad challenged by the pressure, many of whom were solid and dependable potential stage managers and production staff; with very few exceptions. They took direction well and I stay in touch with a few of them with intent to continue to hire them.
On the other hand; some I visited on site on projects they worked after graduation. More often than not, I would see what I would classify as obvious gaps in production, sub-optimal staging or craft, and ask the newly-minted Producer / Stage Manager about it…only to learn that the failings of the production under their new purview were not evident to them until pointed-out.
Inductive thinking was not being applied, a critical eye had not been developed and these earnest individuals were not aware. Either unsupervised or not mentored, but evidently not practiced in making a production the best it can be. After a little mini-tutorial in applied stagecraft, they could see…but were often afraid to raise the issue with their employers.
That would be a different problem…
IMHO.
About that Ceremony Set-up:
Rough (VERY rough; I am no artist) comparison of options…)
What was:
An Option:
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Interested in a refresher on The Original Five Tenets? These are excellent tools to keep one fresh, inspired, inspiring…
Billions of readers throughout the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies have discovered “IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience.” A free, downloadable eBook on the tenets and methodologies we use to…create compelling experience, it can be found in the iBooks app on any Apple device, in iTunes or at this link.
Can one covet what one already has?
My Swiss Army Knife. I was in Boy Scouts; hiking and camping in the mountains of Oregon when I was given mine. For boys of a certain era, I believe, the possession of such a wonder was almost a rite of passage, a coming of age, the precursor to Mountain Manhood. Owning one made one Cool…and able to accomplish anything.
I could whittle with the best, open things, pry things, cut kindling or meat or rope. I could do it all, and was sure to carry this instrument with me at all times; Be Prepared.
One evening, over an actual campfire with a group of guys, as we cooked and ate our burgers, all with our Swiss Army Knives attached to our belts; one of the guys got some gristle stuck between his teeth.
“Anyone got a toothpick…” he asked. Two of us looked uselessly at each other, thinking “Who packs toothpicks for a camping trip?”
The fourth guy reached for his SAK, pulled out the toothpick and silently, smugly, handed it to him.
“Wait! WHAT? Yours has a toothpick!!?”
“YOURS have toothpicks…” he quietly said.
Oh.
Who knew?!
Life Lesson: One ought never to assume one knows everything about anything; no matter how familiar one is with that thing…or how familiar one believes one is with said Thing.
Working with people – be this on a creative or production team or in virtually any context – one can easily come to assume (See Exploration of Assumption) one knows everything relevant about one’s teammates or those whom s/he is directing. This is never so. People can almost always surprise us with another layer of creativity, another applicable experience from the past to apply to today’s problem, a deeper understanding of some thing or other which can miraculously expand horizons or enrich an experience.
Keep asking questions, keep minds open; as a project unfolds through its process, see to it that the atmosphere is open for contribution, innovation, exploration of possibility outside one’s own experience, vast or otherwise.
Likewise, being familiar with or “knowing” another’s Body of Work can make one an expert in what that person has done; but not an expert on that person or what that person can do.
Be open, expect surprises, seek them out. I speak from show and experience production: I’ll wager, though, that this dynamic applies in almost any business or academic context.
You’ve worked with scores of designers, legions of creatives, producers, technicians. They’re all different…and can each and all surprise you.
I’m just saying that simply because someone has “Art Director” on the business card, s/he may or may not work as other Art Directors work…not all Creative Directors live in a cloud of their own reality (though, some…) and not all Producers are…well, you know.
It’s a good rule of thumb to approach afresh each person on one’s teams…each time…to see what’s new, what characteristics may have evolved since last contact and what amazing and valuable properties may have been there all along without your awareness.
Keep exploring, remain ready to learn at all times and keep people around you who can surprise you with what they can do and how they can inspire you. I have been newly inspired in the past few weeks, by people I had inadvertently mis-evaluated based on my experience of them.
I offer, too, we should guard against forgetting that people evolve just as we, too, explore, discover, learn and grow ourselves.
Don’t be the last one to know about the toothpick. Explore.
(Though, people who cannot tell a joke will probably never be able to tell one. Physics.)
IMHO.
Interested in a refresher on The Original Five Tenets? Good tools to keep one fresh, inspired, inspiring…
“IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience” is a free downloadable eBook on the tenets and methodologies we use to…create compelling experience. Find it in the iBooks app on any Apple device or in iTunes at this link.
“Territory folks should stick together,
Territory folks should all be pals.
Cowboys dance with the farmer’s daughters,
Farmers dance with the ranchers’ gals…”
– “The Farmer and the Cowman” from “Oklahoma”
Rodgers & Hammerstein
Here in the UAE (and in certain other global businesses, industries and neighborhoods, as well) one of the most effective obstacles to the growth of a strong and healthy theme park, show and spectacle production community is the aloofness and animosity between the Principals of competing agencies and companies.
This pretty much serves to stunt the healthy growth of what could be a far more profitable and impressive industry and undermine the quality of what is being produced and built, even now.
Many GM’s, Presidents and Officers of production companies and agencies in this part of the world simply do not speak to one another. It’s as though being friendly with the Competition is seen as somehow risking damage one’s own business.
Bad call, kids.
Let’s look at some relevant clichés:
Let’s face it: in the UAE we are faced with a privileged though uneducated client. Blessed with budgets to make dreams happen; the client in this part of the world does not know how to shop for Show nor for the most part how to refine and define what is actually being sought.
The result is
…all of which ultimately makes the show and spectacle industry in this part of the world look amateurish.
None of this can be addressed effectively, much less alleviated, with a Balkanized “community.” There is work to do, clients to enlighten, an industry to evolve, grow and empower. There is wonderful production to mount in collaboration with educated clients.
This cannot be managed if y’all’re not speaking to one another.
One of the best qualities of the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) in the West, Europe and newly in Asia and the Middle East is the collegiality amongst the entire membership. Production, Technical, Fabrication, Creative companies may bid against one another on a given project; then join together to pitch on something subsequent for which this ad hoc partnership renders the resulting consortium perfect for that specific project.
This is Professional, Adult, Evolved…and PROFITABLE.
It is also why that organization has gone from an informal association of small businesses to arguably the most respected Association of Entertainment professionals in the world; counting among its membership everything from the small creative content collective or individual writer, Director & Producer to the mid-sized, kick*ss lighting, sound or technical company to Disney, Universal, Paramount, Cedar Fair…
It is through the collective action of this organization that the relationships with the Big Corporate Boys of Themed Entertainment have become normalized, payment periods have shortened, mutual respect has been engendered and strengthened…all because everyone talks to one another, collaborates with one another, supports one another.
It is not necessary to reveal trade secrets in order to be friendly with the Competition.
Imagine how it might feel to receive a phone call from a competing company, congratulating you on winning a pitch against them. You must be willing to make that same call.
Build relationships, build this business.
Sometimes y’win, sometimes y’lose, but everyone continues working…
Rather than keep distance from one another; work with one another to evolve the client / vendor / production / creative culture here in the UAE to bring it into this century.
Virtually everyone complains about clients wanting complete shows designed and budgeted in a matter of weeks (or less) as part of a Pitch. This is wildly inappropriate and wastefully expensive as well as being misleading to the client while undermining the quality of production, not to mention degrading the potential creative product.
We appreciate the fact that this dynamic has grown from a history of historical client error and out of the client’s fear of buying something that can’t be delivered (and undeniably also our own fault out of our own industries’ failure to take responsibility for self-policing and proactively educating clients – discussed elsewhere on IMHO, as it will be again).
Thus, it is our collective responsibility to assure, reassure and enlighten the client that the level of detail for which they are asking in order to make a decision is a months-long, post-contracting process that should be collaborative, not created-in-a-ten-day-vacuum.
This must be communicated as an industry, as collective. Agencies and Companies, here in the UAE, are the only ones who can change the dynamic by which all this waste can be alleviated and the quality of the collective product can be elevated to world-class. Defining and then universally accepting, working toward and standing behind a change in the way things are done here will – when all is said and done – make everyone happier, more productive, more profitable and alleviate the angst and tension between the Creators of Experience and the Clients.
Of the plethora of agencies and companies with whom we’ve worked in the UAE, each and every one of them is headed by Principals with commitment and good hearts. While we may not agree on certain ethos or always jibe culturally, even those with whom we would not work again are led by men and women passionate about the industry. This is a fact to be acknowledged, appreciated and respected; and a foundation on which can be built an even stronger industry.
These individuals should all treat one another as peers, colleagues, professional friends; we’re all in the same trenches. All can learn from one another, and only together can the members of this industry effect the changes needed in order to succeed in upgrading the product and concomitant processes.
One’s business cannot be hurt by proximity to the Competition.
There are two organizations in this area working hard at building collaborative relationships between and among the production businesses, theme parks, agencies and consultants, here in the UAE; ILEA, the International Live Events Association and the aforementioned TEA Europe / Middle East Division.
Get involved, meet one another, collaborate, make a plan of action and address the disparities that are holding back these industries, here in the Middle East.
All you GM’s and Principal Officers who aren’t speaking to one another: get together for dinner and find your common ground. You’re holding back your own industries.
IMHO.
[As it happens, “IMHO : Creating Compelling Experience” is still a free download from the Apple bookstore and iTunes. Free. Read it. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/imho/id555219645?mt=11 ]
The Legacy of the Carpetbaggers from the West continues to wreak havoc in its effect on the way business is done and projects are being managed in the UAE (and elsewhere).
Our position:
There is no substitute for assiduous attention to the quality and completeness of the Experience being created at any level in Themed Entertainment, Show or Spectacle. It is our responsibility as members of this industry to police ourselves; holding ourselves and our colleagues accountable for Quality of Experience, Integrity of Production and Respect for Clients.
No excuses, no free passes, no looking the other way.
And we are not doing it.
The onslaught of the Unscrupulous, descending on the UAE at the turn of the century, selling second- and third-hand, low-quality equipment and experience with glowing Words of Descriptive Marketing – taking advantage of a newly rich and unsophisticated market, taking the money and running – planted deeply the seeds of suspicion that continue to germinate and affect business relationships, even today.
The crash that followed toward the end of the first decade then undermined even the trust inherently granted to the proverbial Big Boys; the Disney’s, the Paramount’s, the Universals… Despite the explicability of even these behemoths closing up shop and leaving, the subtextual effect of these massively expensive disappointments and departures was to further undermine trust in We Outlanders who come Bearing Themes…
The Client Culture that has evolved can be characterized as nervous, paranoid, skeptical and skittish. At virtually every level, government and private, boards and committees seeking to build want, on the one hand, assurances so comprehensive as to virtually require nearly full design before contracts are let. Primarily at scopes of small to mid-millions, the hoops and hurdles the small shop or vendor must navigate in order to obtain the work run closer to obstruction than to qualification.
Again; this is a result of clients who, from experience, fear being taken advantage of by the integrity-free in a market or industry with which they are largely unfamiliar, but in which they see great potential to showcase this part of the world. Trust is rare; even presentations of credentials citing bodies of successful, exemplary work can be cautiously dismissed as mere marketing…invalid even as presented.
Too, out of all this has come a bidding process that wastes ridiculous amounts of money of both client and vendor in creating projects and presentations in a vacuum of information and concept and competing on a field with no discernible rules…at the end of which is a Procurement Process that favors the lowest bidder irrespective of reputation, quality, experience, concept.
Thank you, 2000’s!
Subjecting Creative to a bidding process is, in and of itself, strong deterrent to quality. It only guarantees the cheapest script. If it’s the cheapest script that is wanted, irrespective of quality, take it to a classroom or ask “the best writer in the office” to write your show. (Um, not a good idea…)
Production can be “bid” to a point; though only with a careful eye to quality of product. Beware, too, the lowest price for structure, infrastructure, hard goods. Quality is not universal. It would seem unnecessary to have to say this; but again and historically right here in the UAE, paying the lowest price for production rarely…rarely…offers acceptable quality and longevity.
Business is Personal
Solution?
Clients: nurture relationships with creative individuals and agencies whom you can trust, negotiate contracts as you develop relationships. Keep your business relationships close and keep them accountable. Look to your creative resources to help navigate the production pathways to uncover and develop relationships with the production resources best suited to each project.
Seriously: a supplier of creative content or direction, knowing s/he is participating in a relationship expected to last from and through project after project, is going to bond, trust and come to know the wants and needs of the client far better than a one-off vendor who prevails, delivers and departs. The product will reflect this.
Negotiate contracts, evolve relationships, save money while representing your project or brand.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM:
The Insidious Truth of Now and How our Industry is Letting Us All Down
As this decade has unfolded, the purse strings in this part of the world have relaxed (and, in some cases, vaporized!) with vast amounts of money being invested in some of the largest projects on the planet, here in the UAE.
Question: What do you get when you take a corps of one-more-gig-before-I-retire white guys, many (but not all) alumni of and pedigreed at Disney and Universal, and cross them with projects worth billions of dollars; making them responsible only for completing the projects on time…not for the quality, success or longevity of the completed projects?
Do we need to answer that?
Add to that a veritable army of Yes Men, terrified for their jobs, vastly under qualified for the positions they hold and with virtually no experience in the industry to – and I have to say this – a head of design for a HUGE theme park project who continues to boast that he’s “…never been to a theme park.” Who hires these people and expects expert product?
This is what has developed in the UAE. Principals are in place here, at the end of their careers, pushing, pushing, pushing for completion of multi-billion dollar projects by the Announced Date, irrespective of the quality of work being done to get the doors open. Employees who raise questions about quality, completeness, manageability, missing components or technologies are pushed out or sidelined as obstructive when these people are often those most committed to quality of experience delivered.
This is not universal; it is, though, a rampant dynamic.
More than one company responsible for these showcase products are already well-known for being “Carousel gigs,” with people cycling in and out over periods of mere months as they learn they cannot work with integrity in these contexts or for these companies. Too many questions means dismissal. With silence, one’s job may be secure but the work is sub-par. Personal and professional reputations begin to outweigh the paycheck in short order.
A great number of highly-qualified individuals in the midst of building their own careers have left these projects seeking work of higher integrity.
One key principal company in this morass hasn’t regularly paid it’s employees on time for years and is well-known for non-timely-payment of vendors….
Virtually our entire industry knows this; yet our industry press continues to blithely print Opening Announcements and gaudy press releases, schmooze and shake hands over cocktails with the very companies putting these projects and the reputation of this part of the world at risk.
Recently, IAAPA held a “leadership conference” here in the UAE; part of which included tours of properties which, clearly, even the simple laws of Physics stand in the way of completion by the Announced Dates, not to mention actual logistics of time, design and construction. Nothing was said.
Dubai 2020 versus Other Dubai Projects
It will be most interesting to observe the comparison between the quality of production realized in these “permanent” projects and parks being built and that of the experiences offered in the “temporary” installations and experiences that will be a part of Dubai 2020 when that fair opens.
The work done for Dubai 2020, each pavilion being directly representative of individual countries, just may far outshine the envisioned Destinations being built, here.
We’ve been accused of being “angry…” Nah; disgusted, certainly…and deeply disappointed in seeing so much money wasted on a vision that quite possibly could be realized. Were it not for the absence of accountability, were those in control to insist on giving quality top priority and putting Qualified Individuals in positions of Decision…and backing them; this vision could be beautifully realized.
Whither accountability?
We owe our audiences better.
We owe ourselves better.
We owe the vision of Sheikh Mohammed far better.
IMHO.
IMHO – Creating Compelling Experience is a free download for iOS and OS X from iTunes and the iBook Store. Free.
