Mike Walker Creative

Wow, it’s been a while since I last posted. It’s been a crazy year thus far and I’m not even sure where all the time has gone.

A few months ago I posted with the question “where are all the artists?” In mid January my travels led me to Nashville, TN where I ended up in a meeting with new worship leader/artist Kari Jobe and her family in a restaurant in Franklin, TN.

Kari was in town working on her record with producer Ed Cash. Sometimes you meet people and you can just see big things inside of them and that’s what I saw in Kari.

We just had a CD release party at her home church (and mine as well) with a completely packed out room, in fact it was standing room only. I was amazed as I watched the audience stay engaged for over an hour and a half. No one left, but everyone had an incredible worship experience. O

One of the highlights of the night for me came when I walked up to one of the overflow rooms during a worship time and saw that the entire crowd in a room completely removed from the main worship center, was entirely on it’s feet and completely engaged in worship.

There were no HD screens, no amazing audio, and no moving lights. I guess it goes to show that when you have something to say and a call on your life maybe you don’t need all the toys….it definitely made me re-evaluate some approaches to things. The technology and the set design stuff are all great, but they should always exist to compliment a larger message. Too many times we as tech people tend to forget that we are not the message…we are just support…..

I am sitting in the front seat of our tour bus headed down the road as Kari’s tour manager. What a blessing it has already been. You look for opportunities in life that are “once in a life time”…..this is one of those.

If you haven’t seen Kari live you absolutely should. If you aren’t as familiar with her then you should check out her new CD called Kari Jobe.

Hope to see some of you on the road somewhere…..

I have been fortunate to be able to do some work with the Dallas Cowboys franchise.

When Bill Parcells came in to take over the coaching he had a phrase he used to pound in to the players heads, “don’t eat the cheese”. When things started going well and the press would start giving out accolades he would remind his stars especially…”don’t eat the cheese. Your cheeks will get fat from eating the cheese”.

What he was trying to tell his guys was this, be careful about reading and believing your own press. You’re never quite as good as they say and never quite as bad.

Eating the cheese can be incredibly destructive to any organization. I have seen it first hand in several organizations. Some of the strongest teams with the most momentum have been undone because they started believing their press. They got distracted by the success and quit doing the things that got them there. The guy or girl who outworked everyone else suddenly became the one crying for another assistant so they could spend less time doing what made them successful in the first place….their cheeks got fat from the cheese.

Just because something worked for several years doesn’t mean it will keep working…which means YOU have to keep working to stay current and keep yourself and your company on the leading edge.

Don’t eat the cheese.

I was speaking with a peer who was telling me about a situation with a client. The client is going back to the well of a few gimicks that worked well for them a few years ago, but has since changed its personnel, its customer base, and its overall approach and brand. The problem is, in this case, that what worked several years ago will likely have a resounding thud this time around.

Most everyone is in the middle of tough times economy and having to get creative with budgets, programs, staffing, etc….being from a sports background I have always taken the approach of going back to the basics. Go back to the grass roots things that made things work in the beginning. The problem is too many organizations think its about a program or a gimick that brought them success, what they don’t realize is that it was something deeper that made them successful and the gimick or the program just accentuated what was already there.

Gimicks WILL NOT help you pull out of tough times…in fact, if done poorly, can sink you further in to a fast moving quick sand. Don’t get me wrong…I am in favor of doing a few catchy things here and there, but I have seen up close and personal what happens when it becomes all gimmicks and no substance. Just be careful about going back to the well too often…it can dry up quick.

Phil Cooke has always called me “the live event guy”. At first I hated the label because there was so much more I was able to do, but at the end of the day it turns out he was right. When the heats on and you don’t get a second chance…that’s my world. 

I was recently watching old episodes of a show called Studio 60 (I still can’t believe they took it off the air). In one episode the show is falling apart due to a prop master strike in LA. One of the guests of the show who is used to working in network television is freaking out when one of the regulars of the show walks by and says “this is live tv. This isn’t your little show where you get to stop and do it again”…

When you go live there is no going back. There’s no take 2, there’s no rewind function….you are live, there’s no where to hide, and anything can happen. This is why preparation leading up to the event is paramount. 

I am getting ready to do a couple of large events in the next couple of months. 1 in Washington DC and 1 in South Africa. When we go live failure will not be an option so every possible detail of the planning is being gone through with a fine tooth comb. Here are a few of the first steps we will be taking:

1 - Identify the team - Who is who, what do they do, and what roles are most critical to the success of the event. For instance, one of the events is an outdoor event during the day so lighting isn’t near as critical as it is for an event that is indoors in a dark arena or theater. 

Be as specific as you can here, but leave a little room for some flexibility.

When doing large festival type events with several bands or speakers the transitions between each one are critical. Make sure your audio team is top notch. The on stage monitor engineer and the person responsible for patching the mics are probably the 2 most critical people to your success. If the mics are patched right then the Front of House engineer has a much easier job. A smooth stage goes a long way to making sure things appear smooth for the audience. A stage that looks out of control can make an audience edgy and can lead to unresponsiveness. 

Again, identifying the team is critical. Figure out where you are strong and areas you might be weak. It helps the leading process.

2 - Lay out the 50,000 foot over view of the event for the team - listen for any concerns - there usually aren’t a lot at this point.

Take time to plot out a visual over view of the entire event to give everyone a visual.

3 - Start laying in the details of the event. Who is speaking? what mics do they use? Do you have the correct amount of wireless? Who is singing? What bands are playing? Do you have enough mics, stands, stage risers, stage space for stage changes? 

Lay out each individual stage plot and input list. In some cases I have gone so far as to map out the traffic flow of the stage to give everyone a visual of the movement to avoid on stage traffic jams.

Again, listen to the team for any concerns - address what items need immediate attention and table the rest to come back to.

Make sure to include scenic, lighting, and video in these discussions so they feel connected to what’s going on and can also help identify pitfalls. 

4 - If it’s a multi day event, lay out each day. The larger the event the more need for greater detail. I have worked on events that are broken down in 3-5 minute increments and some times tighter than that if broadcast is involved. 

5 - Communicate, Communicate, Communicate - You would think this would be self explanatory, but I cant tell you how many times I have seen departments become silos during large events. People get so wrapped up in making sure their area is covered that the quit seeing the bigger picture and they quit communicating with others as they go. I have used several methods that have worked well (and some that haven’t). In larger events where the team is spread out I like to use basecamp. In any event I always like to establish a communication hub, someone who is responsible to gather, track, and distribute all the information. This single area could make a complicated event become simple or, done poorly, can derail even the simplest of events.

These are merely a few of the things I look at. I am a live event guy who likes to do live events which can include live events going to broadcast. One of the balancing acts you have to play in broadcast/live events is who is leading. One of my pet peeves are events that look great on tv but are boring and stale live. I believe you can do both and do them both exceptionally well. My approach has always been to create a GREAT live event and have tv or broadcast capture that as opposed to putting on a great tv broadcast that’s not much fun for the live audience. The nice thing is that you get to pick.

With the events upcoming I am sure I will be posting more ideas on this as we get closer.

I was working on a project recently that had me researching the fastest growing churches in the country. I am actually a member of one of he fastest growing churches at Gateway Church in Southlake, TX. I was aware of the usual names on the list as I try to keep up with what’s going on, but here is one to keep  your eye on.

I was on site with a new church in Lubbock, TX, called Experience Life Now. Pastor Chris Galanas and his team are only 9 months old. They planted with 300 people and in just 9 months have grown to 700…AND they are growing through the summer. 

They will be a church to keep your eye on in the months and years ahead.

A friend of mine used to tell me that adversity will always reveal all flaws. What I have learned to be true is that this applies to people, construction, teams, business models, and the list goes on….

One thing that is certain is that tough times will reveal insecure leaders which will lead to instability within your organization and anyone they lead. When squeezed and forced to come up with answers and solutions most often they will turn inward which will, in turn, run off your “star players”. When insecure people can’t come up with answers they are afraid of being exposed as weak when there are others around who CAN provide answers and solutions, so, to protect themselves they run off people who could really help an organization.

I talked to a friend of mine earlier today who has a situation within their organization that has exposed a lot of insecure leaders and consequently they are losing their best talent to other organizations. The people who lose here are the starting organization and it’s customers.

Really inspect your staff. Figure out who your players are and who needs to either be removed or at least moved. Strong, secure, creative leaders can really help you thrive while insecure leaders will cause you to dive. It’s all about taking it one measure more.

I saw a great quote from Terry Storch.

“Recessions, or economic downturns expose poor leadership, weak management and bad business models.”

That should certainly make you want to take a closer look at things within an organization. Success and a good economy covers up a lot. Tough times, recession, and a slow economy are quick to expose what/who is working and not working within an organization.

As summer official started last Friday and I’m looking to the fall, I find myself in a state of evaluation. What I am sorting through is how to take what has happened so far this year and build on it. For me the process begins with figuring out where we are, what are the needs upcoming, and then taking inventory. Whenever I take on a project I always look around to see what I have and don’t have as resources…sometimes its gear but the most valuable thing to me is what people I have available. People solve problems. For me this process is not just merely a matter of having bodies, but what skill sets do they bring to the table as compared to the skill sets needed for the upcoming project/challenge so that we can appropriately address the challenges at hand. Often times I may or may not have the right people with the skills, but they have the potential to learn it…OR…they have it in them, but no one has drawn it out yet…I am always looking for those people. While working in the church this evaluation process always helped me figure out who was already at the table and who needs to be there over the next few weeks/months. It’s an interesting journey, but one that never fails to set teams up for success. And God has always been faithful to bring the right people at the right times. I’ve had the privilege to work with some great organizations this year and as we dive into their project needs we inevitably take inventory. When you look at your team what do you find, and who is ready to do more?

Throughout most of the 90’s High End Systems was one of the top names in concert moving lights. In recent years I have been fairly critical of them as I had more problems with them on shows and, other than Catalyst and DL2’s, I haven’t seen much from them in the way of new product lines that I was excited about.

I came across a press release announcing Barco has acquired High End Systems. Barco has long been a leader in innovation in the projection and LED market. This union could be real interesting.

Read more here.

Bill Hybels has long been known as an innovator and risk taker as the Senior Pastor at Willow Creek Community Church. He really pioneered the “seeker movement” starting back in the 70’s.

In recent months a lot has been made of the “Reveal” study they did as a church. Much has been written about how Willow Creek is “repenting” and changing their model.

In a recent video interview Bill addresses, for the first time, all the talk. It sounds like to me that he is as hungry as he ever has been to reach people “far from God”, and he has always been a guy who is tireless and tenacious. Sounds like the seeker church is still very much alive and kickin….

Check out the video…great stuff!