This week’s spotlight of recipients in the IAVM Foundation’s inaugural class of 30|UNDER|30 are asked, “As a future leader, what areas do you deem necessary for future success in this competitive industry?”

Kelsey Metzger Covart
Sales and Event Manager
Ames Center
Burnsville, Minnesota

“I think it’s important to keep up with the ever-changing trends as well as having a firm foundation of what built this industry. Things like VenueConnect—and other continuing education opportunities—are important, because it gives us a chance to work with the industry’s leading professionals and to network with our peers to see what works for them and other best practices. It’s also important to stay connected to the communities we serve, whether that is working with the convention and visitors bureau, the chamber of commerce, or just being involved in the community. This truly lets us see what the community wants in terms of programming and products. One also has to have a strong passion for this industry to succeed. It’s such a crazy, ever-changing industry that without a deep love for it one can’t be successful.”

Sari Feinstein
Events Supervisor
Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
Santa Rosa, California

“A motivation to learn from those around you is necessary for future success in this competitive industry. Future leaders need the spark to continue to grow with the times, look at those venues around us, and learn from their successes and their downfalls. One venue does not have all the answers, and curiosity is essential.”

Nikki Lekhy
Program Associate
Cultural Tourism DC
Washington, D.C.

“We are a flexible and adaptable industry, and I think it’s necessary to use our comfort in change as an opportunity to change the role that we play in the communities we serve. Future success in this industry takes a willingness to try new things and to create opportunities that affect more than our own bottom line.”

Andrew Shreve
Assistant Box Office/Parking Manager
Global Spectrum – Greater Richmond Convention Center
Richmond, Virginia

“I believe one key to staying competitive is seeking out traditional and non-traditional marketing tactics, utilizing social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and maintaining user-friendly content. It’s a great way to promote an upcoming show, an upcoming convention, or even the venue itself.”

We’re having fun producing our monthly podcast, The Venue, and we hope you join us this Friday, July 24, at 2 p.m. (CST) for another episode.

You can register at this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/50090377894186342

We’ll be joined by our guest host, IAVM Chair Kim Bedier, CFE, and we’ll discuss a variety of topics, such as SMART goals for part-time/front-of-house employees, John Oliver’s editorial on publicly funded stadiums and arenas, VenueConnect, and bacon-flavored seaweed.

We hope you join us on Friday by calling in or listening, and please take a moment to listen to the first episode and the second episode.

Sometimes there are great articles online, and that’s where I come in to point you in their direction. This is one of those times, for you see, The Guardian over in the U.K. is running a series titled “How to Put on a Mega-Gig” and it’s told from people directly involved in the process, such as the venue manager, the security guard, and the promoter, among others.

Here’s the lineup, along with a few choice quotes from each article.

The Booking Agent
“Once, with Pink Floyd in Italy, we couldn’t get their mirrorball into the stadium. We couldn’t drop it in by crane – which we’d done before – because the streets were too narrow to get a giant crane down. The only way was to destroy the entrance where the footballers walk in. We destroyed it, got the mirrorball in, did the show, rebuilt it and got out. The fans had no idea. Neither did the stadium until we did it, but they were very happy – they had Pink Floyd.”

The Promoter
“The biggest priority and main focus for any event producer is always the safety of the public. We work so hard along with all of the involved parties – like the emergency services, stewards, licensing – to ensure our events are staged to the highest standard.”

The Band Manager
“The bands don’t generally check out the venues before a show, but we did go and take a look at Manchester Arena to get a feel for the place before the Courteeners first played there, because we live nearby. You want to know what it looks like from the stage and where the screens will be. It’s such a big venue, and it looks much bigger from the stage than it does when you’re in the seats.”

The Roadie
“You’ve got to fix things in the heat of the battle – we’ve got guys 100 feet in the air, fixing things. We’ve had a generator go down before and you lose the power, but usually when something is wrong only we notice. We try to fix it as soon as possible. But the average concertgoer wouldn’t even notice and it doesn’t affect the concert.”

The Lighting and Show Designer
“Brian [May] once said to me that they never made any money out of touring until they reached the Wembley stadium era, because they used to spend it all on lights and stuff. So they have this tradition of it being huge. But that show would be nothing without their songs, so the ideal is to make a great spectacle that hopefully suits the music very well. You want people to have a really special evening.”

The Venue Manager
“The number-one priority is safety. People want to enjoy a big night out and aren’t thinking about safety, but we are their custodians. The show requires specialist technical knowledge, from power requirements to the load-in space and times needed for equipment. Everything is risk assessed – especially where there are pyrotechnics or hydraulic platforms.”

The Security Guard
“I’m a stand-in-the-shadows guy. If you see a picture of me, I’ve screwed up. If I’m in the photo, the person I’m protecting isn’t far away. It’s a feather in my cap when nobody knows I’m there. At gigs, I need to be within six strides of the band because it will take eight strides for someone to get on stage.”

(Image: Kmeron/Creative Commons)

We’re offering a session this year at VenueConnect that will focus on the convergence of multiple generations in the workplace and how to effectively motivate and engage the different age groups. This session will be lead by Jack Messenger, vice president of instruction for Dale Carnegie Training.

Dale Carnegie Training is one of the world’s best-known training programs, and we recently asked Ryan M. Akins, regional president, about multi-generational workforces and how leaders can better manage them.

With so many generations and work styles mixing in today’s workplace, what is the best strategy for a manager to follow in order to get everyone moving toward the same goal?

RA: Effective managers appeal to the nobler motives. In other words, if we want to create an environment that keeps employees engaged, we need to create an organizational mission that cuts through generational differences and inspires the team to move in the same direction.

How do you see leadership training evolving over the next five years?

RA: We are going to see the youngest manager-level workforce in history, with the baby-boomers retiring, and the Millennials getting promoted into leadership positions. We are going to see many younger managers leading teams that are older than themselves, which will create a real need for leadership skill development. It’s going to be an exciting time for businesses, full of innovation.

There is always a lot of talk about how the generations are very different; however, let’s flip that. What are some similar traits you see across all three generations and how can leaders capitalize on them?

RA: We may express ourselves in different ways, but at our core, we’re not that much different. Dale Carnegie’s human relations principles are just as effective today as they were 100 years ago, because they tap into every person’s desire to feel important. Showing appreciation, seeing things from the other person’s point of view, admitting when we make mistakes, and letting others save face are all examples of timeless principles that help a leader get maximum productivity from his or her team.

There are a lot of training programs around the world. How does Dale Carnegie Training stand out from the pack?

RA: One factor that sets us apart from other training programs is our trainers themselves. Our trainers go through a 18-24 month certification process that’s ISO accredited, and they have to re-certify annually. That means the trainers working with our clients are the highest quality in the industry and produce measurable performance shifts in Dale Carnegie participants at a faster rate than any other training company. We’ve been helping businesses with employee engagement since Dale Carnegie himself started in 1912. With over nine million Dale Carnegie graduates, we have a tradition of exceeding our clients’ expectations.

“Motivating and Engaging Different Generations” takes places on Monday, August 3, at VenueConnect in Baltimore, Maryland. Registration is still open.

Congratulations to the following IAVM members who successfully completed partnerships in IAVM’s Mentor Connector program from April 2014-March 2015. Experienced venue professionals were matched with individuals seeking to enhance their industry knowledge. Each team created a unique program tailored to sharpen skills, increase networking, and strengthen IAVM and its members. Well done, teams!

These members truly represent the breadth of IAVM—across venue types and geographic regions; from students, young professionals, allied members, and seasoned managers to board leaders and past-chairs. Mentees get more involved in IAVM while helping advance their careers and establish “…a relationship with someone to bounce ideas off of and get advice on tough issues.” Mentors not only “pay it forward” to the next generation (an oft’ heard comment), they reinforce their knowledge base and gain insight from another perspective. Coaches bring an industry veteran’s experience—many of them remark, “The benefits you receive in return are tenfold what you put into it.”

One of the mentees this past year—Johnny Walker, general manager of Norris-Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado—had this to say:

“Thank you to everyone involved for having this program! It has been a wonderful advancement of my knowledge of venue management and has benefited myself and my venue immensely…not many industries work so closely with each other like this, and I have truly been the recipient of a great culture.”

Congratulations again to these IAVM members…all leaders in the industry. Successful participants also qualified for points toward the Certified Facility Executive designation and continuing education.

As we say in the opera world: “Bravo! Encore!”

SEE YOU IN BALTIMORE! Look for us on the trade show floor at VenueConnect! Booth 244—just look for the logo!

Mentor Connector 12-month cycles begin every six months—in spring and fall. All current IAVM members are welcome to participate in this FREE member benefit—you need only to fill out a simple online application at www.iavm.org/mentor.