"I have no special talent. I am just passionately curious." Albert Einstein
What drives us? i mean literally.. what is the driving force behind us achieving the heights in our career, or in our personal life? Education and talent is something which gives us the base for us to strive forward but there is something else which makes us extra ordinary people at what we do.
What is this force?
This elusive question can have many different possible answers. Some say paying someone a high salary and high incentives gets the job done. While others differ and say paying a good salary is always good but incentives need not always be related to money.
From my diaries of an event manager, i was passionately curious to create events. There are many stories and for me to pick up one will be difficult. I never slept more than 3 to 4 hours during my tenure as an event manager. The excitement to get back to work and create events which will be remembered was always taking precedence over my sleep. We did create concepts which even after a decade are annual events for many companies and the high to do something different was always my addiction. Yes when i speak of addiction as one of the pillars of stress, i was addicted to my job and events.
I honestly don't remember getting bored as long i was creating something new. After 2 decades i guess all events started looking the same, all concepts looked a tweak of something done many moons back and all of a sudden my passion turned into regular job. The day i felt i was going to work i was bored and with the boredom came my decision that it was time to move on. Its strange that the moment my passion for doing events left me however talented i was told i was in my job, i was not interested anymore. No amount of money or big job title can excite me to go back and do events today.
So i wonder if it was not money or incentives what made me work so hard and deliver rocking events day after day for 2 decades. What was it? I often told my team before any event, it was my mantra and motivation talk one can say " You are as good as your last event". And they believed in it and delivered some of the best events done in this country.
Looking back i have learned few things which i am sharing with you
Passion is the driving force for a creative mind. No amount of money can trigger amazing work without passion. Present generation looks for money and can jump jobs just to get the extra money hike which in my time was usually experience getting paid. The market dynamics have changed and i see less passion and less talent with more cribbing. "My time" was limited and the deadlines of the project were the driving force. I had never heard my team cribbing of not getting enough time off.
Respect was another driving force. The clients used to respect the agencies and would share all details to ensure that the agency would come up with the concept keeping in mind the vision and what the companies envisaged from the event.
Relaxed work environment in an event company is a must. Many companies are now coming up with open offices. This was something which was done more than a decade ago. I still remember my team used to come to office at 9 am and first 15 minutes was loud Shiny disco balls and similar music playing and everyone dancing and freaking out. Come 9:15 am everyone used to be at desk and our regular day at work used to start. We had a dart board in my cabin where my team could sit discuss the events and also relax themselves out by playing the game. In the long corridor we invented Mallu bowling. Yes you heard it correct, a coconut tossed at plastic pins just to have fun and try to train our focus. Cricket on friday afternoon, maybe at times a movie played on projector if the team wanted to relax. Mind gets tired, and one cannot think creative concepts always. So we had means to relax ourselves and work into the night to meet our deadlines.
Team work : It was never the individual but the whole team which delivers. I still remember in 2002, one of our clients called out my name to come on stage after the show as a thank you for doing an amazing event. I stood in my console , called out each and every team member of mine to go up on stage and take a bow. Its always team first. This was one habit which continued of mine till my last show.
Show must go on : This is our saying in entertainment industry. What ever happens the show must go on. Therefore the team becomes an extension of one's family. If one person has some problem, the team takes over and helps the individual overcome the problem. And the Show happens without any excuses or delays.
Did i give any monetary incentives to my team to deliver rocking shows every time. the answer is NO. The team was driven by passion and one vision and focus to be the best and deliver the best. As the saying goes " You are as good as your last event"
What drives us? i mean literally.. what is the driving force behind us achieving the heights in our career, or in our personal life? Education and talent is something which gives us the base for us to strive forward but there is something else which makes us extra ordinary people at what we do.
What is this force?
This elusive question can have many different possible answers. Some say paying someone a high salary and high incentives gets the job done. While others differ and say paying a good salary is always good but incentives need not always be related to money.
From my diaries of an event manager, i was passionately curious to create events. There are many stories and for me to pick up one will be difficult. I never slept more than 3 to 4 hours during my tenure as an event manager. The excitement to get back to work and create events which will be remembered was always taking precedence over my sleep. We did create concepts which even after a decade are annual events for many companies and the high to do something different was always my addiction. Yes when i speak of addiction as one of the pillars of stress, i was addicted to my job and events.
I honestly don't remember getting bored as long i was creating something new. After 2 decades i guess all events started looking the same, all concepts looked a tweak of something done many moons back and all of a sudden my passion turned into regular job. The day i felt i was going to work i was bored and with the boredom came my decision that it was time to move on. Its strange that the moment my passion for doing events left me however talented i was told i was in my job, i was not interested anymore. No amount of money or big job title can excite me to go back and do events today.
So i wonder if it was not money or incentives what made me work so hard and deliver rocking events day after day for 2 decades. What was it? I often told my team before any event, it was my mantra and motivation talk one can say " You are as good as your last event". And they believed in it and delivered some of the best events done in this country.
Looking back i have learned few things which i am sharing with you
Passion is the driving force for a creative mind. No amount of money can trigger amazing work without passion. Present generation looks for money and can jump jobs just to get the extra money hike which in my time was usually experience getting paid. The market dynamics have changed and i see less passion and less talent with more cribbing. "My time" was limited and the deadlines of the project were the driving force. I had never heard my team cribbing of not getting enough time off.
Respect was another driving force. The clients used to respect the agencies and would share all details to ensure that the agency would come up with the concept keeping in mind the vision and what the companies envisaged from the event.
Relaxed work environment in an event company is a must. Many companies are now coming up with open offices. This was something which was done more than a decade ago. I still remember my team used to come to office at 9 am and first 15 minutes was loud Shiny disco balls and similar music playing and everyone dancing and freaking out. Come 9:15 am everyone used to be at desk and our regular day at work used to start. We had a dart board in my cabin where my team could sit discuss the events and also relax themselves out by playing the game. In the long corridor we invented Mallu bowling. Yes you heard it correct, a coconut tossed at plastic pins just to have fun and try to train our focus. Cricket on friday afternoon, maybe at times a movie played on projector if the team wanted to relax. Mind gets tired, and one cannot think creative concepts always. So we had means to relax ourselves and work into the night to meet our deadlines.
Team work : It was never the individual but the whole team which delivers. I still remember in 2002, one of our clients called out my name to come on stage after the show as a thank you for doing an amazing event. I stood in my console , called out each and every team member of mine to go up on stage and take a bow. Its always team first. This was one habit which continued of mine till my last show.
Show must go on : This is our saying in entertainment industry. What ever happens the show must go on. Therefore the team becomes an extension of one's family. If one person has some problem, the team takes over and helps the individual overcome the problem. And the Show happens without any excuses or delays.
Did i give any monetary incentives to my team to deliver rocking shows every time. the answer is NO. The team was driven by passion and one vision and focus to be the best and deliver the best. As the saying goes " You are as good as your last event"
