We invest in what we think is important. In order to better understand what technology upgrades venue managers consider important enough to invest with their people and their cash, VenueDataSource surveyed more than 250 venues to identify the trends that are most common. The recently released “2015 Technology Report” provides new insights into what the fastest changing area in venue management has seen in the past two years.

The “2015 Technology Report” is now available to venue managers and suppliers who want to learn how current and planned venue technology investments stand in comparison to their peers:

• How many venues are embracing tiered pricing for Wi-Fi, and how many are getting rid of tiered structures completely?
• Are performing arts centers embracing mobile payment apps more than stadiums and arenas?
• How are venues addressing the increased use of drones inside our spaces?
• How much more are venue managers prepared to invest in technology spending in the next three years? And what applications and systems are the planned big-ticket items?
• What precautions are venue managers taking to protect their networks from hackers?

The “2015 Technology Report” has already been freely provided to the venue managers who participated in the survey. All members can access it now on the IAVM website at https://www.iavm.org/vds/vds-reports for further analysis of technology and trends in venues. You could also join us – for FREE – September 24 at 3 p.m. (EST) for an in-depth webinar review of some of the more interesting finds in the report. VenueDataSource  – We Connect the Dots.

(Image: Alex Abian/Creative Commons)

I know a lot of you are going to say, “Ain’t nobody got time for that,” but hear me out because I’m looking out for your health. If you want to reduce your blood pressure and possibly take fewer medications, then take a nap.

“Although [poet] William Blake affirms that it is better to think in the morning, act at noon, eat in the evening and sleep at night, noon sleep seems to have beneficial effects,” said Dr. Manolis Kallistratos, a cardiologist at Asklepieion Voula General Hospital in Athens, Greece. “Two influential U.K. prime ministers were supporters of the midday nap. Winston Churchill said that we must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner while Margaret Thatcher didn’t want to be disturbed at around 3 p.m. According to our study, they were right because midday naps seem to lower blood pressure levels and may probably also decrease the number of required anti-hypertensive medications.

“Μidday sleep is a habit that nowadays is almost a privileged due to a nine-to-five working culture and intense daily routine,” he continued. “However, the real question regarding this habit is: is it only a custom or is it also beneficial?”

The study included 386 middle aged patients with arterial hypertension, and researchers found that nappers had a 5 percent lower average ambulatory systolic blood pressure compared to people who didn’t take a nap in the middle of the day.

“Although the mean blood pressure decrease seems low, it has to be mentioned that reductions as small as 2 mmHg in systolic blood pressure can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by up to 10 percent,” Kallistratos said. “We found that midday sleep is associated with lower 24-hour blood pressure, an enhanced fall of blood pressure at night, and less damage to the arteries and the heart. The longer the midday sleep, the lower the systolic blood pressure levels and probably fewer drugs needed to lower blood pressure.”

When you’re ready to nap at work, might I suggest the Ostrich Pillow?

(Image: Tom Lin/Creative Commons)

If I asked you to name mentors from your life, it probably would not take you long to come up with a list. For myself, the two that immediately come to mind are Al Murray and Paul Brailsford.

In my first swim meet as a freshman in high school, Mr. Murray put me in an event I had never done before and had failed to complete just days prior during practice. This began a streak of him providing me numerous opportunities to grow through his extreme generosity in our relationship, including him hiring me to work for two of his companies.

Paul Brailsford, of Brailsford & Dunlavey (no judging on the shameless name drop), was instrumental in helping me decide the type of college that best suited me. We had numerous discussions on the pool deck regarding the type of environment where I could unlock my potential—though at the time, I did not realize the depth of our conversations.

More recently, I took advantage of the opportunity to again engage in a mentor-mentee relationship. I participated as a mentee in the program two years ago and was very fortunate to be paired with Duane Morris from Montana State University. Generally, we spoke for 60-90 minutes monthly, with approximately 15 minutes of preparation time on the topic that I had pre-selected for the call. Duane was tremendous in providing advice and guidance for no other reason than wanting to give back to the IAVM community, which he said had been very generous to him over the years.

The Mentor Connector Program continues to grow each year from the continuing generosity and participation of our members. At this time, I personally challenge you to seriously consider signing up to participate. It’s merely 12-15 hours a year that could potentially establish a lifelong professional bond, friendship, and mentor-mentee relationship.

The Mentor Connector Program webinar is scheduled for September 10 at 3 p.m. (EST). Please join us to learn more about the program. Thank you.

You’re invited to the “world’s largest tailgate” next week when Kyle Field at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, reopens after a $485 million renovation led by Populous.

Students, former students, and fans around the world are encouraged to join those in College Station by virtually tailgating on September 12.

“We invite everyone who loves Kyle Field – home of the 12th Man – to take part in this celebration, whether right here in College Station or anywhere around the globe,” said John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System. “Through the power of social media, we can all be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event on the day that Kyle Field comes back to life.”

According to the press release from Texas A&M, to join (and for a chance to have Aggie tailgate photos from anywhere in the world shown on the video boards at Kyle Field), follow these steps:

· Register your tailgate prior to September 11 at www.kylefield.com and provide the location and estimated number of attendees at the tailgate;

· Regardless of location and time differences, once your tailgate begins, tweet photos using the hashtag #KyleField;

· The hashtag will be monitored, and photos from the global tailgate will be streamed to the video board in the redeveloped Kyle Field.

To learn more about Kyle Field’s renovation, please watch the video below from Populous.

(Image: Populous)

There is a wonderful YouTube video showing a young man dressed in black shorts, dancing (badly) alone on a hill at a music festival. The video [screenshot above] shows him dancing for about 30 seconds before he is joined by another man who mimics his outrageous moves. They embrace each other’s terrible dancing, but carry on none the less. A third man joins in, and before long this maverick, crazy, dancing man is surrounded by hundreds of people dancing to the music. His courage and that of his first and second follower have created a movement and he, the lone maverick, has disappeared inside the group of people who are all now dancing together. It is a funny video but really does showcase leadership quite well. Every leader needs to share his vision, he needs a follower who he embraces and treats as an equal, and before he knows it, he has started a movement.

I often wonder about the qualities of a good leader, and it reminded me of a story my dad once told me. When Attila the Hun gathered the Hun tribes together, with the intention of ruling parts of Europe, he outlined his plans and asked if anyone had any objections. One of the leaders stood up and objected to going to war against the Roman Empire. According to my dad, Attila drew his sword and cut off this head, turned to the rest of the gathered Huns and asked if anyone else had any objections. I don’t know how true that story was, but perhaps my dad was simply enforcing the idea to 13-year-old me that it was not a good idea to challenge the pack leader. Growing up in a conservative society in South Africa, our leaders appeared to be strong, decisive, and unyielding. They barked orders and uncompromisingly enforced their will. Leadership through fear is seldom a recipe for success, and these types of leaders are often toppled.

So what is the language and behavior of a leader, as opposed to a manager?

Leadership vs. Management comparisons categories according to professor Fred C. Lunenburg, PhD, are listed below:

Leaders don’t have all the answers; leaders don’t pretend to have the answers. Leaders care. Leadership is about creating the vision, sharing and articulating it, and taking people on the journey.

Leadership creates trust, not an easy thing to do. Trust is one of those qualities that takes a lifetime to create and seconds to destroy. I have found myself working my career with either start-up or financially distressed businesses. The very first thing I do is agree to a value system with the staff. Defined values creates an environment where people can flourish knowing that they operate in a circle of trust. Leaders need certain traits, either naturally or learnt. While at VenueConnect in Baltimore, I attended two sessions on leadership led by Curt Cronin, an ex-Navy Seal. Cronin is a great speaker and obviously a deep thinker with brilliant content and well worth learning from. There were a few aspects of his discussion that really resonated with me. He told a story of going to work at the embassy in Yemen and gained trust by empting bins and making coffee. He spoke about earning trust and aligning leadership through humility rather than ego. He also spoke about fear. One seldom links Navy Seals with fear, but he said leaders remove fear and foster empowerment. He also said something that astounded me about the Seals—they learn mental resilience rather than physical prowess. This really struck a chord with me about leadership and the need to persevere. I have often stood in front of our staff body, waxed lyrical about values, inclusion, and how we as team leaders need to be active listeners to find that days later nothing had changed. Leadership needs resilience—change doesn’t happen merely because one says it should. It happens when one demonstrates change through one’s own action.

I remember having a discussion with John Key (New Zealand’s Prime Minister, and yes I am name dropping). He told me the one thing he disliked most about politics is that when you come up with a great idea, at least 30 percent of people will tear it to shreds without ever providing a different solution or alternative answer, whereas in business, a good idea is embraced with debate and positive input to make a good idea a great idea. Often when one is working in distressed businesses, they come with staff who, despite all their hard work, have had the enthusiasm knocked out of them. Once we have created the values, the circle of trust and removed the fear, I take advice from the band Walk The Moon with a little poetic license and say,

“Oh don’t you dare look back.
Just keep your eyes on me.
He said, ‘You’re holding back,’
I said, ‘Shut up and dance with me!’
This team is your destiny
I said, ‘Ooh-ooh-hoo,
Shut up and dance with me.'”