Super Star or Team Player?
I attended the St Marie aux Mines rock and gem show in June. During the visit I overheard a retailer talking to a customer. ‘It is my intention to be the best and number one crystal retailer and wholesaler in the UK’. I am genuinely pleased for her. Anyone with an objective like this has an immense amount of work ahead and must be commended. One has to be brave, climbing to the summit on a crowded mountain takes supreme fitness and a tremendous amount of resources.
Observation: – Success is harder to achieve when we fly solo.
I am a fan of the ‘Carry On’ films. The films eventually become a little tiresome. However, they led me to read about the various actors and the two men who made the films possible. Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas; both were excellent businessmen and ran a strict regime. They paid the ‘billed’ actors five thousand pounds per film. All complained bitterly about the wage. However, we should consider an excellent yearly salary was £600 per annum at that time. The “Carry On’ billed actors were paid nearly ten times this figure for six weeks work. We could question if they were ‘hard done by.’
Observation: – Never overestimate your worth.
Sid James considered himself the ‘star’ of the series. Being a huge gambler money was always tight. So he asked Gerald Thomas to increase his fee ‘I’m the star – I should receive more money’ he argued. Gerald Thomas looked him in the eye and replied ‘The Carry On franchise is the star, Sid. You’re fired.’ Three films were made before Sid returned to the Pinewood ‘Carry On’ film set.
Observation: – The community will ‘Carry On’ without the star.
The rock and gem lady is welcome to her aspirations. Sid was not the star. Many people think they are the best. The reality today is the public, customer and visitor dictate success. For my part I have no interest in celebrity and ‘star’s’ – I’m a team player and prefer to work with the security of a unified community. In an email I read ‘I will be an asset to your show and will attract visitors.’ My reply – It is not our show – it is the community’s show. The visitors you attract will be your visitors, not the community’s visitors. Without the community you are alone, the community supports you, and will survive without your presence. Liz and I provide a stable environment for the community to thrive. Alone in the venue, you could not pay the overheads. Our community pays for you to attend the event.’ We still await the booking form.
Observation: – The audience judges achievements and status.
‘I cannot attend your events unless I am guaranteed the one o’ clock talk on both days.’ My reply? ‘We can go no further with this conversation. There are more of the community who would like to present a talk than available talk spaces. We are limiting the talks for the moment. No one would be given more than one talk each weekend. Fairness is essential to our future, and many would like the opportunity to promote their work.’ The key is, we can support our work within the event.
Observation: – The overall wealth of the community is greater than the wealth of an individual.
Do you think a list of talks brings visitors to shows? If you are an ‘exhibitor’, look very carefully at the footfall and talk lists. Then draw your conclusion. An ‘exhibitor’ informed me at Lincoln ‘You need more talks to bring people into the show’ I made no comment, although I could have replied ‘Surely it is the quality of the individuals within the community who bring the visitors to the show?’ If the comment of more talks is accurate, then we would be best to have a seminar of ‘talks’ – Something which has been tried many times and failed on every occasion.
Observation: – Leaders see the whole picture.
We become complacent and fail to realise, constant change and reappraisal are essential to captivate an audience. A poorly executed talk not only reflects upon the speaker, but it also damages the reputation of the community. Incidentally: During the last two years, I have spoken to many visitors at various shows asking them about the talks they attended. The main comment is ‘Same people, same talks, nothing new.’ We do not see the point of recycling old methodology. For the time being, we will support our community with our media platform. Send me a written article – or take advantage of our video platform or record an audio MP3 download. I guarantee you will reach a far greater audience for longer than a 45-minute talk. For example – John Richardson’s video and blog post reached a combined audience of 770 people in four days (Vimeo + WordPress + FaceBook) and the figures are still climbing. John is also working on further ideas to utilise our communities media platform.
Observation: – Media technology works 24hrs a day – A talk lasts for 40 minutes and reaches 40% of the audience.
I would guide you to click on Johns’ image below and see what happens – You may be surprised at the quality and if you watch the whole video click the link when it finishes. Every member of the community can utilise this facility. There is no charge.
Johns’s Vimeo figures will continue to grow for weeks, months and years
ninety-seven plays in four days – will become 500+ in a month
And John can use the Video ANYWHERE to his advantage
We do not desire to be the best, the greatest or ‘stars.’
The preference is to be part of an active and generous community.
Part Three Tomorrow
