| |
By Kim
Bedier, CFE
Now’s the time of year when
eager, freshfaced high school students are making critical decisions that
may drastically affect and direct the rest of their lives. I know this
because my son is a senior this year. We have a bucket full of mail from
dozens of colleges. We have the applications out, and our fingers are
crossed.
Some students will seriously consider a career in facility management. There
are a number of excellent programs at good colleges. More than ever, many of
them even use an actual facility management textbook, IAAM’s Public Assembly
Management Principles.
For a lot of us in the industry today, there were no textbooks, no college
courses. In fact, many of us went to the “Venue Management School of Life.”
What if we’d had the opportunity back then — when facility management was a
mere glimmer in our eye — to hear what it was really like? Would we still
have chosen this profession (or in some cases, still allowed it to choose
us)?
I recently posed a couple of questions to some esteemed colleagues: “If
there were one thing you wish you’d known before becoming involved in venue
management, what would it be?” and “If there were one piece of advice that
you’d give someone thinking about entering the field, what would that be?”
Lifestyle Demands
Almost everyone wishes they’d known more about the total lifestyle
commitment a career in venue management demands. Whenever I’m asked to speak
to high school or college career classes, one of the first things I tell
them is that we work when everyone else is having fun — and yes, that does
include evenings, weekends and holidays.
Steve Peters of Compass Facility Management says, “I wish I’d had a better
understanding of the time commitment and personal sacrifice a career in
facility management would require — not just from me, but from my family.
Managers put in long hours, and that has an impact. Too often we miss games,
recitals and school functions to be ‘at the building.’ ”
 Brad
Mayne of American Airlines Center in Dallas adds, “It also means your family
will have to adjust their schedule against everyone else’s schedule if
they’ll be inclusive in inviting you to their celebrations.”
Adina Alford Erwin from the Fox Theatre in Atlanta further highlights the
family issue: “The characteristics of venue management aren’t always
compatible with family life, especially for women in the industry. I wish
I’d known this going in. Not that I would’ve changed my mind, because I love
the challenging, ever-changing nature of this industry. But for me, the want
and need to spend time with my family often clashes with my responsibilities
as a venue manager.”
Tim Murphy of Wachovia Center in Philadelphia says, “It’s a lifestyle as
much as a career.” Russ Simons from HOK Sport echoes this sentiment: “The
critical decision is, are you ready to commit the necessary time, energy and
enthusiasm to a career versus a 40-something hours job? There’s nothing
negative about having a job, and in fact, the vast majority of our employees
are people with jobs. But you have to make the decision on job versus
career, then pursue your course of action with extraordinary enthusiasm.”
Love and Relationships
The recurring theme is that all these successful venue managers love what
they do, and they think you will too. Tim Murphy puts it well: “I realized I
had a passion for it as soon as I started, and I just learned on the fly.”
Kevin Twohig from the Spokane Arena cautions, “Only get into this profession
if you love it, because it will consume you.”
Everyone commented on how relationship- based our industry is. Lynn Carlotto
from the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport reminds us that because this is
a relationship business, information travels easily. “Remember that the
details matter. Do a good job and word will get around quickly; do a bad job
and it will spread even faster!”
Russ says he’s surprised at how many people were willing to help him and had
the patience to stick with him, even when he was being “dense.” (Russ, word
really didn’t get around about that!).
Jane Cada-Sharp from Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie, Canada, says her
colleagues are “a warm and generous group of people who are more than
willing to share their expertise with you. Don’t be afraid to pick their
brains.”
The queen of relationships herself, Donna Dowless, encourages us to “cherish
and understand the power of relationships. It’s all about the people. Honor
and respect them.”
Secrets to Success
What do you need in your toolbox to be successful in venue
management? Although it’s all about people, it’s also a business. John Page
of Global Spectrum wishes he’d known going in just how dynamic a business it
is, and how many real business applications there are in arena operations.
His advice to would-be managers: “Get your foot in the door any way
possible. Part-time jobs are a great way to learn about the business and
develop a core of contacts.”
Kent Meredith from United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas agrees that you
should “do anything you can do, even offering to intern for free, just to
gain the experience and knowledge of the industry. Be persistent.” Meredith
would like to have known more about the resources of IAAM in his early
industry days.
Tim Murphy recommends a business background in finance or marketing.
Meanwhile, Kevin Twohig ties people and business together and cautions,
“You’ll spend more time on HR than you think.”
Larry Hovick from Kemper Arena in Kansas City admits, “You have to have a
good attitude and love what you do for a living in this business — or win
the lottery and go play golf all year long.” And Mark Burrage from the Sears
Centre has key advice that we all can take to heart, whether a student, a
rookie, or an old timer: “Take time for yourself. The world will not stop
spinning.”
I encourage you to leave a copy of this article taped to the computer screen
of your favorite high school senior — even if all he reads are these wise
words from Brad Mayne: “If you enjoy making other people’s lives more
manageable, more exciting, more thought-provoking and more enjoyable, work
in a public assembly facility.”
Kim Bedier, CFE, is general
manager of the Global Spectrum-managed Everett Events Center in Everett,
Wash. |
|
Back to Facility Manager
Contents
