Friend or Foe???

Friday, August 28, 2009 by Mike Taylor

It is a small business.  That statement sums up who we know in the market and how quickly people come back around.  We work in an industry that keeps us in contact with a lot of people.  We recognize local labor, catering people and certainly building personal throughout the year.  Most important may be the other departments that we interact with so often.

When we go into pre-production for an event, we typically run into some friends and acquaintances on the road.  We work with the same small group of independent contractors and company individuals.  When it comes time to make a show happen, that individualism comes to an end and a team is created.  I see quite often that the departments treating each other as the enemy to accomplishing their own specific show goals.  Treating the event as the goal helps to change the perception that we are all on our own, ensuring that we all work together to achieve the end result for our clients. 

Working together to create an outcome in the small time that we are allotted is a difficult result to achieve.  Look, nobody’s perfect, and having those friendships on the road are extremely important to the integrity of an event.  The friendships forged on the road make for relationships that last a long time, and to have another person who is watching your back is a luxury that we cannot do without.