For the vast majority of us, from both a personal and professional perspective, the last 18 months have presented challenges unlike anything we have seen before. In the events market, the industry that I have worked in for the majority of my career, we have seen businesses disappear, mass redundancies and a vulnerable future. Throughout this the industry has shown superhuman resilience and adaptability, but chances are if you work in events you already know this.
What may have brought you here is that you are starting to think about the future, that the world may be starting to come back to something vaguely resembling normal and you don't want to spend much longer just surviving.
Are we still feeling vulnerable?
If we are it is hardly surprising.
Is that a bad thing?
Not necessarily.
As Brene Brown says 'Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation and creativity' and although this pandemic may be unprecedented in our lifetime in the UK we don't have to go back that far to see how innovation can emerge from crisis.
WW2 sparked a raft of innovations that are still part of our lives from GPS and Satellite Communications to Antibiotics and Commercial Air Travel. A few years beforehand, the Great Depression of the 1930s provided the backdrop to the invention of Nylon, the ballpoint pen and the helicopter. During a time of survival, 1930s America witnessed an unprecedented spike in patent applications.
So how can this information from the past apply to you and where you are right now? Let's answer a question with a question (or five questions to be precise) courtesy of Leina Uresina in Forbes. Grab 5 minutes away from the computer, grab a pen and see how you answer them.
What can I / we do?
What do I / we have?
What can I / we control?
What do I / we know?
How can I / we use this as an opportunity?
This is a process well worth repeating both on your own and with your teams; your answers next week may be far developed from your first attempt. This audit of skills, knowledge and experience can deliver two great benefits. Firstly, it draws a line under the past and promotes a shift in mindset towards the future, secondly, when done collectively, it draws team members together and encourages them to contribute creatively to a shared project.
In an entrepreneurial industry such as live events, things can move quickly. The level of trauma suffered by businesses will differ on a case-by-case basis; some will move from survive to thrive much faster than others. Furthermore, new players will enter the sector to stake their claim and new companies will be formed by those who have left employment but retain knowledge and ambition.
Gaps will appear in calendars as established events are postponed, consolidated or even shelved. These gaps provide opportunity to those who have survived and are now looking to the future positively, embracing vulnerability and harnessing their creativity.
The future is an uncertain place, thankfully.
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