Confluent Dynamics – Collaborative Leadership

When my 13-year-old grandson looks at me knowingly and boasts "I know everything", I can only hope he is joking. All I know for sure is how little I really do know.  So, when I read this insightful blog, I asked Kile Ozier to share it with all of you. -Andrea Michaels

-By Kile Ozier

Our industries are in the midst of a magnificent boom and concomitant crisis. It seems the world of themed entertainment and experience is at capacity in terms of experienced, skilled creative, tech and production personnel to design, build and open projects currently underway… and there are even more projects coming off the boards as this is written.

Ground is well-broken on massive, new, from-the-ground-up theme parks across all hemispheres. Beyond that are vast expansions of, and new Lands in, iconic parks, renovations of legacy installations and dynamic ideation of properties and experiences we haven’t yet seen.

It’s a tsunami of abundance…

Word on the street is that <name a conglomerate> is scrambling to find experienced people to support the myriad business plans and projects already in process; not to mention what’s coming down the pike.

At the same time, there are scores – if not hundreds (if not even more) – of smart, talented young people coming out of design schools, universities, technical schools and basements who possess the “book-learnin’,” the valuable objective knowledge and the passion that is going to drive Entertainment and Experience into the future.

…and these two Rivers of Project and Resource are flowing together at a moment of synchronicity that stands to greatly benefit our industries and very likely completely evolve the way things are designed, done, sold and experienced for the next few decades.

Thus, this Convergence of Harmonic Opportunity…

There was a conversation in this space some years back about the bestowing of titles that imply experience to those fresh out of school; an inflation that has historically been seen as diminishing of the title, itself (“Creative Director,” “Producer”…), misleading the person holding the premature title and undermining efficiency and quality.

Well… that’s not gonna change. These “darn millennials” are going to come out of school thinking they are ready for anything. In reality, this is not a problem; rather, it is a portentous opportunity… for all of us.

The opportunity, then, for the remaining grey-haired heads, our peers and colleagues in these industries is to embrace these folkx*, their aspirations and ambitions, and support them in becoming who and what they see in themselves.

Collaborative Leadership & The Apple Store

Rather than confront them for who they may not yet be, embrace them for what they are about to become.

During the Crash of 2009+, I was most fortunate to find myself immersed in 20-somethings at Apple SoHo** at a golden time for that company and the perfect time for me. Where I first walked-in to this sea of edgy youth thinking I’d never fit; I learned in short order that this was just the opportunity for me to completely recalibrate my own collaborative style – something of which I’d been proud and something I learned could be vastly revivified in that maelstrom of tech and humanity.

No one knows everything on the floor at Apple; but together, we knew it all. The context is one of ad hoc dynamic collaboration. Everyone is resource to each other, respect is paramount and the fundamental skill – the basis of success in that place- is Listening: to one another, to the customer.

(Listening. we may have spoken of this quality, before…)

We each had our own ways of addressing a given problem; yet, with successive interactions I would offer that each of our approaches evolved just a tad, time after time, as we collaborated with other Specialists or Geniuses on a given problem at hand.

We learned all the time; about the technology and about one another. The level of respect afforded every, single team member was radically empowering: we each knew something the person next to us did not, and we each could learn something from that same person.

There was an inherent, healthy curiosity, an inquisitiveness among the team. “Who ARE you…?”

Leadership / Mentorship

Those who feel fully Heard are far more likely to Listen and Learn. Listening first, hearing one out, offers the listener the opportunity to see through new lenses and gives the other a sense of validation and trust. Defenses evaporate, and true collaboration is more likely to ensue. When people don’t feel pressured to Prove, they improve.

And this, I believe, is our key to success from here on out. We must embrace these folkx for who they are and bring them along through collaboration as we address challenges together that will make them the leaders of the future…and ensure the best future for our industries.

If we Listen… really hear who these folkx are as we bring them onboard, we can create an almost immediate symbiosis. For having been fully heard engenders confidence, self-respect and respect for Leadership. Taking the time, up front, will pay off in massive dividends, creativity and loyalty…teamwork.

When I add new people to a team, my process is:

§  lay out the responsibilities of the job and get agreement

§  agree on schedule, milestones, deadlines

§  share my own methodology and how I would do it, then say

§  “you don’t need to do this ‘my’ way; I’m just showing you what I know works. If you have another way or idea, do that… just be sure to keep your eye on the ball and let me know if things seem to be going awry. Don’t hide errors or mistakes. Your way is fine; as long as it’s successful…”

§  more often than not, some effective hybrid evolves that we both embrace

§  then, if s/he comes to me with a problem, my first question is “what do you think we should do?” And chances are that I’ll suggest we try that; this person is closer to the problem – and solution – than I am.

Y’just gotta have their backs.

Thus empowered, these folkx grow fast…and may be more likely to realize their aspirations without the years of apprenticeship heretofore seen as necessary.

Learning Leadership – Listening & Respect: Respectful Listening

As Leaders, we must be willing to learn. The world is moving fast; and these folkx (loving this word!) think very differently than do we. While the physics of a given problem may remain pretty much the same, solutions can evolve from new perspectives, experiences, points of view, technological familiarity…

Our “tried and tested” are not the only options. All are models from past experience that have worked well; though not the be-all or end-all. Everyone can evolve; even we old guard… and this exercise in Listening creates trusted bonds as all parties discover one another.

Being in positions of “power,” it behooves us to take the first step.

Before we reveal or share what they don’t know; we must learn and acknowledge what they do know.

Some of our most progressive companies have recognized and embrace this philosophy and methodology; some have not quite, yet. It’s the ego-free way of the future.

Beware; it is ever so subtly easy for the Visionary to become a Dinosaur virtually overnight. Stay current, be open, be welcoming, share.

Remember “Don’t trust anyone over 30”?

Well, then. We must authentically, genuinely share and show that we can be trusted and that we trust. I’m telling you, it’s freakin’ exciting, surfing the surge of evolution with teams of disparate ages and open minds.

* (ht: to Clara Rice of Jack Rouse Associates for introducing me to this new, pangendered word.)

** (Shout out to Durk Snowden; an amazing, brilliant, powerful and supportive man and our kickass Flagship Store Manager at Apple SoHo.

Kile Ozier’s is a director, producer and writer of global reputation for crafting captivating experiences. He shares his techniques and philosophies… and opinions… on creating experiences (and on random experiences that have been created by others) in his iBook, “IMHO: Creating Compelling Experience” - a free download from iTunes or iBooks at https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/imho/id555219645?mt=11.

Meanwhile, his blog, “IMHO: Sharing What I’ve Learned,” is avidly read and embraced by billions of humans and others throughout the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies. http://www.oziercreative.guru/. Kile may be reached via kile@kileozier.com]

Andrea Michaels is the founder and President of Extraordinary Events, an award-winning, Los Angeles-based, international event agency. She is the author of Reflections of a Successful Wallflower - Lessons in Business; Lessons in Life. She may be reached at amichaels@extraordinaryevents.com.

CLOSE THE SALE… ASK FOR THE BUSINESS

I had a very revealing luncheon with a friend who is in the non-profit sector of the event industry.  While I was wailing about not having enough business (does anyone ever have enough?), he said, “Do you know the number one reason people give so generously to non-profits?” My response was, “because they get tax write offs?” He smiled indulgently and said, “They ask.” Light bulb in my head time. Of course. “They ask”.

Salespeople do a grand job of presenting brilliant ideas, solutions to problems, strategies to help their clients develop an idea. They spend a fortune on proposals, detailed graphics, renderings, 3d models, and all the bells and whistles, including expensive leave-behinds. And the usual ending is, “Thank you for this meeting. We are committed to making your event outstanding and blah, blah, blah.

What they almost never do is ASK for the business. And I must wonder why. Let me get anecdotal. Many years ago, my mother, a recent immigrant from Europe, went shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue. She found a coat she wanted. Let’s guess that at that time is was $49. She then told the salesperson that she would pay $40. The salesperson scoffed and said, “we don’t discount our fine clothes.” Unabashed my mother said, “please get your manager and let me ask her if she will sell it to me for $40.” Fast forward, and my mother paid $40 for that coat. She operated the same way at jewelry stores, the hairdresser, and even occasionally at the market. In Europe everyone bargained. It was not the way of life in the USA, but my mother didn’t know that. And in the end, with her beauty and charm and self confidence she usually got exactly what she wanted BECAUSE SHE ASKED FOR IT.

I could embellish and could probably tell many more stories, but there is a great point here. Do not leave your work… your creativity… yourself… on that table when you leave. Let the very last words from you be an honest “ask”. Ask for the business because you know you deserve it. “When will you be making a decision?” is not an “ask.”  A savvy question that leads into this is: “I am here asking you for your business. What else can we do to show you that we are the perfect match for this project and to work with you? We WANT to do business with you.” And then shut up and see what happens.

Andrea Michaels is the founder/president of Extraordinary Events, a Los Angeles-based, multi-award-winning event agency. She is the author of Reflections of a Successful Wallflower – Lessons in Business; Lessons in Life and a contributor to numerous other business books. She may be reached via amichaels@extraordinaryevents.com.