Navigating the stormy seas of event planning, we're reminded that adaptability isn't just a buzzword—it's our survival kit. Our latest episode brings you along for a wild ride with Sarah, who shares the mayhem of Star Wars Celebration 2017, where even a galaxy far, far away isn't immune to the unpredictability of fan excitement. We trade tales of professional hiccups, like a high-powered CEO's unexpected restroom rendezvous, proving that every misstep has its silver lining. And with laughter as our backdrop, we uncover the transformative power hidden within the chaos.
In the trenches of event management, we're all human, and that's a thread that connects each of us in this high-stakes industry. Katie's furniture pilfering predicament and Hong's autopilot warning serve as a beacon for professionals seeking camaraderie in the face of blunders. As we weave through these narratives, Liz and Nicole elevate the discourse, championing mental health and the cathartic release found in sharing 'fuckup stories' with peers. So, pull up a chair and get cozy; this episode is more than just a conversation—it's a celebration of our collective resilience and the unspoken bond that bolsters us through every unexpected twist.
Navigating the stormy seas of event planning, we're reminded that adaptability isn't just a buzzword—it's our survival kit. Our latest episode brings you along for a wild ride with Sarah, who shares the mayhem of Star Wars Celebration 2017, where even a galaxy far, far away isn't immune to the unpredictability of fan excitement. We trade tales of professional hiccups, like a high-powered CEO's unexpected restroom rendezvous, proving that every misstep has its silver lining. And with laughter as our backdrop, we uncover the transformative power hidden within the chaos.
In the trenches of event management, we're all human, and that's a thread that connects each of us in this high-stakes industry. Katie's furniture pilfering predicament and Hong's autopilot warning serve as a beacon for professionals seeking camaraderie in the face of blunders. As we weave through these narratives, Liz and Nicole elevate the discourse, championing mental health and the cathartic release found in sharing 'fuckup stories' with peers. So, pull up a chair and get cozy; this episode is more than just a conversation—it's a celebration of our collective resilience and the unspoken bond that bolsters us through every unexpected twist.
Speaker 1:
I hear you, sarah, and you know this moment is turning into a sort of a moment for everybody to come together and see. You know that you could actually reject your imposter syndrome because we're all being through that. It's also a massive cringe moment because I'm cringing so hard while I'm hearing this, but you know, at the same time, it's like, whatever this is the business we're in, right, as you said, like things are gonna go south, like the way you react to them. It's what makes a difference between a good and amazing, and I'm professional. So, you know, I feel that that is the summary of all. Thank you for sharing that with us through without Sarah MK, this is with you now.
Speaker 2:
Yes, when I reached out and nominated myself for this panel to Liz I I think I gave four or five options and then I I went in the chat earlier today and even gave a poll of which theme should I go with, because there's that many to choose from and we've decided on the theme of Star Wars and I think this definitely counts as a fuck-up. It might actually kind of fail to a whole lot of people involved. That didn't catch this situation. So I created a little visual, but I know I'm like a little tiny box, but basically we're at Star Wars celebration 2017 in Orlando Convention Center and and Star Wars celebration is is like a comic-con, but there's this nuance of the fact that everyone loves the same IP. So at Comic-Con, you start to get people that go towards funcone, who goes to Marvel and who goes to panels and who goes to celebrity signings. You get to Star Wars celebration and literally everyone wants to watch the preview of the next film, or everyone wants to watch the anniversary panel or the release of the next Disney ride. The entire crowd of the convention center all wants one thing at the same time. Occasionally there's there's spreading of the crowd, but it's tough, and so we get word that the crowd is gonna gather outside the event and sleep on the sidewalk. They're gonna do it. They know they want to be the first ones in the door, first ones to make a beeline and reserve their seat. We know that's coming. They're staying it on social media. So we go okay, we work with the convention center and say we'll open the Q-Haul Overnight. They can lay on the concrete floor indoors, but at least they're not out in the elements like. That seems like the responsible way to treat fans. What we didn't really account for was that all of our signage is actually a souvenir. If you steal it and it just, people take the path of least resistance. They flow like water.
Speaker 2:
So in our perfect plan, people would go up this outer lane and then pick which lane they want to go into to get their bracelet for that panel. So you want to go to the first panel of day. Come, get your orange wristband in the first shoot and work your way across. Everyone was allowed to wristbands. After you got one, you'd go back and join the queue, going straight to the back of the room. It was this perfect plan. Everyone goes down a lane. It's nice in one directional, except as soon as it started, people started using this center area where the columns were as a cut through, and Suddenly the whole plan was broken. People were cutting back shorter. People with wristbands are joining lines with people without wristbands people.
Speaker 2:
There was chaos in the back of the room. The fans are Screaming loud and angry. They're on Twitter and on social media complaining that it's chaos. And we're sitting there like we had a plan. You just didn't telepathically know how to do it with us. So I'm putting on like I get the first wristband on the first fan, I get the second wristband on, and that's when I look up and realize, ah shit, we're fucked. And so I I I quickly walk to her, towards the back of the room and I'm yelling out to the first problem area Okay, who has a wristband? If you have a wristband, hands up and slowly start to see okay, people with wristbands, mixed with people without, and we clearly have to divide this crowd. So it starts to become a game of follow the leader of okay, everyone, orange wristband, follow me.
Speaker 2:
And I turned it into a parade around the room until they formed a single file line again. I took them on the long path. They didn't know where they were going. I didn't know where we were landing. I just looked for an open chute where I was just like we will make a plan as we go, but just all of you need to at least be in an organized line. And that was the moment I realized I was like a grown-up on the Comic-Con teams. Like once I handled that I was ready for anything. Big fail.
Speaker 1:
Oh my god, oh my god. I mean, yeah, you know Star Wars. Oh god, yeah. Again I'm cringing and I'm embracing this at the same time. You know, it's that double feeling that I'm living through. I just asked the chat to share their fuck-up story in Five Wards. I want to see their creativity to come up with something like that. So please, in the chat, do not judge people. Come on, share it up with us a little bit, because I know we're all judging you a little bit in the events industry, and it's totally fine, we're here for you, but at the same time, we want to hear from you as well in the chat. Okay, next up, katie, take it away.
Speaker 3:
Hello friends, so many stories to choose from. I'm going to go with one that involves a bathroom and a very powerful CEO. Yes, you heard it here first.
Speaker 3:
So I've been part of companies that have been acquired several times in my career and technology is always fun like that. So I was in the midst of a user conference and I was told at 11 pm that the CEO would be landing overnight and would be ready to. The new CEO would be ready to present first thing in the morning live stream, ready to go. And this was net new news. He wasn't going to be available and so we didn't plan him as part of the program, but a planner is always prepared. So I said, no problem, I guess we're doing a fireside chat. And his assistant, who arrived about seven hours in advance at 11 pm, said yes, fireside chat. I said great, I always have a couple extra club chairs stashed behind the stage because you never know when you're going to need one right. And she said oh, oh, no, no, no, that will never, ever work. Now it's 1130, now 1145 on a Tuesday, and so the concept of, you know, waking my design company up to be able to get some new chairs for the run through that's at 6am doesn't seem great. And so she says oh well, you know we have. We really need to get them the right chairs for this fireside chat. What do you have to work with? And so my first instinct was well, we are in a hotel property and they have a lot of furniture.
Speaker 3:
So we went on a field trip throughout the hotel, to sleeping rooms and outlets and all of the things. Now, about halfway through, she says to me well, you know, I really need to make sure that these chairs fit our executive. He's very particular and he's very tall. So we walked into the bar outlet and I found a man and said hey, you want to join me? I'm going to need to walk around with you and have you sit in some chairs and then you can tell me how comfortable they are for you to have a conversation. And he said I'm with my friends. I got things to do and I was like I'll make it worth your while. And he said cash. And I said, of course.
Speaker 3:
So this young man we had never met followed us around the property and was very kind to trying out all the chairs. We even took photos to send back to headquarters to make sure they were the right look and feel. Now we were striking out a lot and so finally I said it's now 1 am and he choose the ladies room, walked into the ladies room through the ladies lounge and realized we had been on a hunt for the chairs that this woman wanted that were sitting in the ladies lounge at the hotel. So I walked out and I said young man, let's go, steal these chairs, pop them up there on stage, take our club chairs, put them in the ladies lounge so they don't think that there's real theft happening, and let's make it work. And the irony is, the next morning he walks into the room and says you know, we have so much to talk about. I think we're gonna do this fireside chat standing up. God bless, we do our best, we just keep trying.
Speaker 1:
No way. So how would you categorize this? Whose fuckup is this? Is this like really the CEO's sort of mental fuckup? More than anything else, like you know, mess it with your mind, you know, trying to find a solution to just change the plan in the last second. So, like, honestly, you went above and beyond.
Speaker 3:
Agreed, agreed. And you know I've never taken furniture from a restroom which gives me all sorts of creepy vibes. But I also believe that most folks who advance executives for programs, the reason they have everything sort of down pat to a real science, is because it makes that speaker and we all know this right Makes that speaker feel so much more comfortable in the environment, regardless of if they're in Amsterdam, Washington or Charlotte.
Speaker 1:
Oh, my God. Well, thanks for sharing with us, and we feel you, katie, we feel you. Okay, let's move to Hong Hong, take it away.
Speaker 4:
Hi everybody, hi. So my story is the pitfall of a rinse and repeat program. As the vet planners, we're always constantly on the go. We're doing multiple events at one time. You know it, you feel it, you're always watching through things right To meet deadlines, especially if you only have a very short runway. So if it's a rinse and repeat program that you've done years of year over year, you think it would be the same, right? You think it's easy. You think, oh, I'm just gonna duplicate the red page and then relaunch it. So that was that's my fust up.
Speaker 4:
And it's also very vulnerable for me to admit, especially being a leader at my agency, to some of these mistakes. And so we had a program it's a sales kickoff and I was helping my team doing some of the stuff because they're very busy, you know, doing other programs. So I jumped in, I jumped in and created the red page, so I cloned it, thinking that it's the same content, same details, just different cities, different dates. I changed that out, but I forgot to review the confirmation letters. I forgot to review, you know, the reminder letters. And then I also forgot to like update some of the back end, like the different emails and stuff. So we launched it at a rush and my clients didn't catch it until the CEO caught it and the CEO was like we're not going to this place. We're going to this place and why does the reminder email say this when I intentionally ask you guys to change this?
Speaker 4:
And I just felt terrible, you know, to make a mistake at such a leadership position for me and not setting a good example for my team and I just I soaked for a whole day and I just felt so like dang it, like how could I make such a simple mistake? But this is a potential pitfall that all of us fall into. You know, when you think you've got it all, when you think you can handle it because we've done it before and you don't elevate your thinking as you should. And it really kicked my ass for that one day right. So I told my team, I apologized to them, I sent them a very long message and I said you know this is not the example that you should see in me and I'm really sorry, I'm slammed, I'm buried and I know I can do better. I also owned up some of my mistakes with the client. We went on a site visit with them, I sent them to do it and I said, hey, I know I made some of these errors and your boss bought it and I'm really sorry, but I'm you know you've. From moving forward, you're gonna see that there's gonna be an improvement in quality in us reviewing things.
Speaker 4:
And I was vulnerable and I told her that I just didn't think to review and she said, yeah, I noticed, but just so you know, like I trust you guys. You've been, you know you're your legacy client. They've been with us for years. And when you have a client that's been with you for years, we tend to be complacent, right. And in this case it's not like we were complacent, but I just thought that it would be easy to do. But really nothing's ever easy in event management. It really isn't like. But don't ever put yourself in a position where you know you think you got it all. So and then, really important, I was very careful, right, if there's some moments where you just you just gotta fall, step back up and never give up. So I love what they said in the previous segment of like they're looking for non-quitter, they're looking for how far you can push yourself and not quit.
Speaker 4:
And I've been in this industry for 15 years now and mistakes happen. We're all. We try to do our best. As long as, in your heart, you're coming with passion and you're doing your best for your clients and they feel it, they know that you care and you're their partner, and as long as you own up to your mistakes and do better, then there's reparation, there's redemption, and so my story is also a story of redemption where, you know, I was able to meet with the team. I improved their red plate a little bit more, and then we got a praise from the CEO that he saw a huge difference in our attention to detail. And so you know we're getting back right. So they're just there's. It's not a perfection, it's not progression, and so that's my story of a fuck up.
Speaker 1:
I love that and I guess you know they say you know, the measure to tell how good a salesperson is is how able they are to end up knows coming to them and so how good they are. I think our knows for them professionals is actually fuck ups in like how we deal with these mishaps, let's call it that way. That happened all the time during events, like literally, you know the way we own it, the way we give it back to clients. And I asked the chat as well. I mean, actually the chat wasn't updating for me so I was like nobody's answering that. I scrolled there's like a hundred answers to that. So I was, oh my God, like look at this, like everybody, everybody has a story. Come on, like you cannot be perfect. There's no such thing as perfection.
Speaker 1:
When it gets to events, we always strive to make it better than the last one. And you know the stories here are from forgetting to order the FNB to Bill Clinton showing up an hour after the presentation to Booth wasn't set up at all. You know, oh my God, like you know, this is just incredible. Like forgot to follow up with the DJ, so it was in there, I guess you know.
Speaker 1:
So there's a lot and I feel, like you know, when the topic like mental health is so strong in the events industry, we've got to have the safe space to come together as a professional and share it with everybody else, because everybody has a story, everybody has an opportunity. I hope, like the events industry, does more to showcase these stories Like thank you, liz and Nicole, for giving us the space to be safe and share with everybody else, and I guess we got to go back and work to give you more stories for the next year, so we'll do that. Okay, how does it sound? Thank you everybody. It's been a pleasure to be with you all and happy holidays to everybody and to the amazing club Ichi. A lot of success for 2024, okay.
Speaker 4:
Thank you.
Speaker 5:
Hi, oh my goodness. Thank you, julius, and thank you to all of our fuckup stories. Those were amazing, incredible. The ones in the chat were fantastic too, and I think you're right. These are the things that we need to share. This is why we love our spontaneous think tanks and our small group gatherings with Club Ichi, because we can bring people together. In these small groups, where you can be vulnerable, you can share these things. They don't have to be on a live broadcast in front of hundreds of people. They can actually just be one-on-one and you can understand that you're not alone. This is a tough job. Things don't always go right and sometimes you just need someone to share that story with, and sometimes it feels good to actually share a story that you've been holding inside for a really long time. So this was really fun.