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.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM WORKING GLOBALLY

What to do, what not to do, and how to travel through the many ins and outs of working globally is an exhilarating challenge. This last week I attended a seminar that talked about what you need to know, and I realized how few people were truly educated on this subject. One question the facilitator asked of the group was, “What is your favorite country to work in?” and moments later the group was laughing at my transparent expression that revealed I mentally was ticking off all the places I had worked, and there are many of them.

Significant tip: Always double check the dates on your passport and your VISA. Don’t check “single entry” if you’re going to enter the country more than once.

Check departure dates. I found out the hard way that my visa to Russia expired the day before my flight back. Yes, I found out when I checked in, which meant I could not leave the country without applying for a new visa.

So, you know me; I tell stories and that’s how I learn. It’s also how I share. There’s lots to share, and I’ve even edited down these stories.

Here’s one I call “The Trip from Hell”:

My best friend, John Daly, and I had just finished a conference in India and took a day to sightsee and visit friends in Dubai. We were then planning a three-day vacation to see more of India as during the conference we went from hotel to convention center and back, other than a very short visit to the Taj Mahal.

We left Dubai at 2:00 p.m. on a Saturday after a wonderful time. The Ritz in Dubai had been first rate. We even found baby clothes for my grandson and a Starbucks. I bought nothing, NOTHING, for myself as I was saving up for those few days in India.

After we landed at the Delhi Airport, I went through immigration without mishap and then noticed that John was not behind me. Shortening this story, they did not allow John into India because his visa said, "single entry," and they had let him in before by mistake and were not going to do it this time. They wanted to send him back to Dubai where he could apply for another visa. We quickly figured out that this scenario wouldn’t work, because by the time he got his visa (remember it was a weekend) our vacation would be long gone.

Nothing worked after multiple calls to sort this out with the conference planners. We had a very nice tour, driver and rooms booked in India, which I had to cancel. They wouldn't let John out of immigration. Since I had had to go out to make phone calls, they wouldn’t let me back in with him. I finally negotiated that we could go home from Delhi, if John didn't “enter” the airport. Of course, our luggage was now at the Intercontinental Hotel in Delhi, far from the airport, especially in Delhi traffic. These negotiations for every decision went on for hours and hours with people who would listen (or pretend to) and then disappear, sometimes never to be seen again.

After a while, I sent a driver back to the hotel to get our luggage. And while John was still being guarded, I went outside of the airport (oh, if you think arriving is bad, you should see those huddled masses outside the domestic terminal late at night!) to look for the driver with our luggage. I had no clue who the driver was or what he looked like or how to find him. In the meantime, we had no tickets to get home three days early, and I couldn’t find any of the people to whom I had previously spoken.

When I tried to get back inside the terminal, they didn't want to let me in since I had no ticket. I finally was met by someone from Air India who ushered me in and helped me meet the driver with the luggage. Then I had to try to find John with no tickets to anywhere while being told that flights not only had no business class available but were sold out. We were told that we could wait in the lounge all night and fly to London, New York and then Los Angeles ... economy.

At the last minute, we did get business class to New York. This was after ALL AFTERNOON and NIGHT in the lounge with no food. There’s a poem that starts “let me count the ways.” Paraphrased it was “let me count the days” as we had now been gone from Dubai more than 24 hours and had not either food or beverage of any kind since we left.

Here was our itinerary. Delhi to London to New York and then transfer to American to Los Angeles.

Our luggage did arrive in New York, and we got through customs and immigration and over to the American terminal. There we were told that the flight was a code share and, therefore, we needed to go to Qantas. So, we changed terminals and stood in another line. Alas, Qantas said "no" we could not go to Los Angeles unless we went to Australia first. So, back to Air India we went.

You can imagine how helpful they were. Not! Finally, though, they accommodated us on an American flight that would get us home close to midnight, L.A. time. Unfortunately, no one knew where our luggage was, but we thought it MIGHT be on the Qantas flight. No business class was available. We took it. ANYTHING. I had a cold and a bladder infection. As I think about it, that was the best part of the trip.

In any case, we arrived back in Los Angeles around 12:30 a.m., and as we went to report our lost luggage, I looked around at the long line of people waiting to report their own lost bags. What a line!  And then I spotted our luggage sitting on the floor in front of the “lost baggage” area. It had arrived on the Qantas flight an hour before we did. By the way, other than a pair of earrings I got at the Delhi airport, nothing to declare. That’s a first!

John rented a car and drove me home. Finally, I curled up in my own bed with my cats. Wired to the gills. Hungry. But ever so glad to be there. Home. Was anything ever more wonderful?

The Lesson:  There’s no place like home, Auntie Em.

If you want more travel adventures, click here.

BUSINESS SUCCESS: GOAL OR PATH?

I was recently asked if success is a goal for which I strive. And I immediately, without even thinking about it, said, “NO!”

“Why not?” was the surprised reply in a very shocked tone of voice.

Here’s what I think: What happens when you establish a goal, and you then reach it? What do you do then? Do you stop? Is there no more to do? It’s “done?”

To me, success is something that is a continuous process. For example, I could set a goal and say, “When I complete this project, I will be a success.” Or “When I have this amount of money, I will have achieved success.” When that project is completed or that amount of money is in the bank, what happens after that? Am I done? Do I set another goal?

I think success is something else entirely. Success is a continuum-always striving to do more, doing better, continuing to travel the path and grow and achieve. So, success to me is not a goal. It’s a pathway.

Let me add that I don’t think success can truly be defined because it means something entirely different to each person. If you are doing the best that you can do and optimizing your life in every way possible, that would probably be my definition of success. Please consider this: Can you honestly say that you couldn’t be doing some things better? So, no, I don’t really define success as an actuality.

The person who asked me the original question then asked, “What happens when you reach the state you define as successful?” 

My reply was that I don’t reach that state, nor do I want to. When most people reach it, they get complacent; they stop moving forward. Either that or they set unrealistic goals and then invite failure, or at least their perception of failure.

If I could advise anyone, including myself, who says, “I want to be a success,” I would say the following: Don’t look at “success” as the end of a road. Don’t define success because you won’t know what to do with yourself once you have realized that definition. Rather, just keep expanding your horizons, loving what you do, reaching for the stars, and dreaming of the possibilities. When you just keep dreaming, that becomes your forever goal.

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

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY - A BUSINESS AND PERSONAL MANTRA

So, I’ll start with my personal experiences. Over the last few years I have heard people tell me about their good intentions. “Let’s get together” followed by… nothing. Or in the case of my grandchildren (with me present) “I’ll call you, so I can take you out on my boat” followed by… nothing. I could fill a novel the size of Gone with The Wind with the promises made and unkept.

Why are these personal disappointments so applicable to business? And I ask you kindly to be honest with yourselves and remember the times you might have said to a vendor, “We haven’t made any decisions yet” …. Or “Call me back in a few days so we can get together” which meant “call me never.”

Or any number of things that were not honest. And when you say, “We do everything in house” is that an honest statement when you do source out many parts of your projects?

On a personal level I would rather people said nothing than make promises they have no intention of keeping. Once they say they will do something, do it, and if they are only filling time with empty statements, say nothing at all except pleasantries. Don’t make me (or my family) hopeful of an event or action that will never happen.

On a business level, are we fair to our clients when we make promises we might not be able to keep, don’t meet deadlines, and say “did you check your spam?” when the proposal was never sent via email? Or is it ethical to intimate that we can meet a budget that is unreasonable because we are hopeful our client will eventually find more money and operate a program on a bigger budget? Again, I could go on forever with these examples. And feel free to add your own.  

Ah, client, did you think you were exempt? When you tell your suppliers that you don’t know what your budget is, is this true? “I don’t want to stifle your creativity” is an oft used phrase. And my response is “stifle away please.” Because my time and creativity are worth something, and I don’t want to waste my time (and therefore money) proposing a million-dollar event or entertainer when the budget is a tenth of that.

Tritely, honesty IS the best policy. So, think before you speak. And, when you speak, make sure to mean what you say. Please.

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

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

As our clients and their participants now are inclusive of four generations, understanding your audience is even more imperative. Here's a story about my "big lady clothes" to drive home my point.

Many years ago, I made a life-altering decision. I was obese and self- conscious, so I signed up for gastric bypass surgery. Vanity and health-related issues like diabetes influenced this decision, but in all honesty, vanity was the primary contributor. My reason: Just once in my life I wanted people to look at me and say, “My, she has a nice figure.”

I was a size 22/24. Yep, obese. I’ll skip the details, but the result was that I lost almost 100 pounds and was not only “normal” but better than normal. Clothed, I had a great bod. Unclothed, another story. But I later fixed that, too, though it has nothing to do with this story. 

Now between sizes six and eight, I had a lot of “big lady” clothing in my closet.  It was designer stuff (Yes, they have designers for large sizes) and expensive. If you don’t know me well, I should tell you that my great love is, and always has been, shopping.

This information is important to my story because my medical group offered support meetings every week, and part of its routine was to have people bring in the clothes that they had outgrown so that those losing weight wouldn’t have to buy new clothing as they down-sized. Some of the ladies were almost 400 or 500 pounds, and I decided to bring them my clothes, thinking that by the time they got to my size 22s they could have a glamorous wardrobe.

So, I attended one of these meetings with bags filled with my lovely offerings. To kick the meeting off, the facilitator asked, “So what’s the best part of losing weight?”

One lady responded, “I can walk into K-Mart and buy anything I want now.”

I should have grabbed my bags and run at that moment, but I didn’t. At the end of the meeting, the various bags people had brought were opened, and clothes started being passed around. I happily anticipated the joy of watching women seize my designer clothes, ranging from evening gowns to business suits.

It didn’t happen.

These women were almost repelled as they handled my clothing. They snickered at the evening wear …” Where they hell would I wear THAT? When I shoveled horseshit?” Business suits were almost as denigrated.

I was aghast. I knew I (and my clothes) didn’t belong there.

So, how does this relate to business? Any business?

It’s a simple lesson:  Know your audience.

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

The Emmy Awards, Dining for Women and Female Empowerment… What Do They Have in Common?

Dining For Women at Extraordinary Events

I was fascinated with the many speeches of this year’s Emmy Awards winners. Instead of concentrating on race, they focused on women. The dialogue included the lack of good female roles (Reese, Nicole,) and the lack of women behind the scenes (Yay, Reed Morano), a gorgeous young female director who easily could have been on the other side of the camera. Oops, is that sexist? Intentionally so. It’s hard to imagine that Reese, Nicole, Shailene, and Zoe, the ladies of Big Little Lies, would ever have trouble finding suitable parts in A-list projects. Yet it seems to be so.

Being a woman who faced leaping into a man’s world many years ago, this intrigued me. Even in the mid- to late 1970s, being a woman in a man’s world was never much of a problem in Los Angeles. Venturing into Wall Street and financial clients or the Midwest with automotive customers, for instance, was an entirely different story. Slowly I got comfortable dealing with the “good old boys’ network” in the USA, but it took some patience. I was young, so I dressed carefully, drank or partied not at all, and, as I didn’t play golf and knew nothing about sports, was not immediately embraced. It took time and trust, and of course many more women started entering the events world over the next few years, sometimes even owning their own companies. (Not like today, is it?)

Having success as a woman in business in the USA, I wanted to expand my marketplace. So, I ventured out to Japan where at first I was treated like I didn’t exist. On a site visit to Tokyo for a major consulting project I took two men with me, one a designer, one a production associate. Me? I was the creative director. Even better, I owned the company. Yet, when we sat down with our client, the six men at the table only talked to my male associates. (Perhaps the initial inquiry addressed to “Mr. Andrea” should have clued me?)

I quietly told my gents to smile and say nothing, absolutely nothing. I informed the six clients that I deserved respect since I was senior to all of them as the owner and president of my company, which gave me status over them, and that I was also “senior” to them in age, and therefore worthy of respect. I also informed them that the two men with me were my employees and would not speak unless I allowed them to do so. Therefore, they could talk to me, or we could all go home, having experienced a nice few days in Japan at their expense. I did this softly and politely with a smile. But I was firm. They responded by treating me with the utmost respect from that moment on.

So why those stories? Because I fully understand what was said at the Emmys and how far we women all have to go to make a place for ourselves in the business or entertainment world.  We have so many fabulous role models out there; women in power; heads of companies, leaders… young, old, beautiful or not. Just wonderful women. But rarely was the welcome mat laid at our feet. We earned our place.

Kenya Self-Help Initiative

Back to my headline: I have supported the initiatives of Dining for Women, an organization which is transforming lives and eradicating poverty among women and girls in the developing world. These are women who do not have the same advantages or opportunities that we do. On a monthly basis, this organization is dedicating to sending $50,000 somewhere in the world where women will benefit through education and skills. It is entirely about sustainability and empowerment. It does not take away from their roles as wives and mothers; it just gives them a better way to support themselves, their families, and their communities. It might be training them as teachers; or teaching them to give vaccinations. This organization's initiatives have taught me so much about the world that I didn't know. I realize that even with the obstacles I faced I had it easy compared to most of the world. Please visit their website at https://diningforwomen.org/ as they have chapters all over the USA, and the meetings are a way of truly doing something good for our world.

So, ladies of television, thank you for calling out that there is still work to be done. You were inspiring.

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