Mike Dias: The art of adding value in pro audio

In his latest Headliner column, pro audio executive Mike Dias discusses the art of adding value and maximising impact whenever and wherever you can…

I was recently driving down to Clair Global for their conference on touring production. And with the wide open road, I was thinking about why I love this industry so much. For me, I’m attracted to the teamwork, to the camaraderie, and to the ridiculous amount of focused dedication that this job demands. What fascinates me is that these aren’t just work skills. These are LIFE SKILLS that make me better at everything that I endeavor.

And as I was thinking about all of this, I got a call from an old friend with plenty of stories from the road. These two winners are absolutely worth repeating here.

WILLINGLY. ENTHUSIASTICALLY. AND WITH JOY

The first story was about his time on the road with The Blues Brothers — and how they were just awful to him. Now mind you, my friend was just a wholesome good natured farm boy who loved audio and who had that can do attitude. He was working for the local lighting and sound company and he didn’t drink or smoke and they treated him as if he were a nark who had infiltrated their rank.

But after a week or so of intense hazing, all of a sudden they started to be nice. Really nice. Too nice… It was such a profound and noticeable shift that he was like: “Umm. What’s up? What are you guys trying to pull?” To which they replied. “Well…. Look… We all talked. And we don’t want you to go home. This is the first time that we all don’t get shocked by everything that we touch on stage. Plus we now all have clean laundry and food to eat at every gig.”

Sorting laundry and food were clearly not part of my friend’s stated responsibilities. But the tour was such a mess and no one else was coordinating those basic details. So he did whatever he could to bring a level of organization and structure to the chaos. He saw problems and he fixed them.

He did whatever it took to be helpful and to be of service — to add value. And he did it willingly, enthusiastically, and with joy. And when that tour was over and when they passed through again on the following run, they asked for him specifically and would not accept anyone else. Which brings me to the next story.

EXCUSES AND DELAYS

I had mentioned earlier that these are life skills and that they are equally important at home as on the road. So as we were talking about our kids and the lessons that we as parents were passing on, he told me about how he bonused-out his daughter one time for chores.

Rather than applying a straight allowance, he had a commissioned-based structure for all the tasks at hand. Both kids could participate and earn the maximum payout per week depending on what they did and accomplished. One week, the younger daughter fell behind and did not get as many things done as the other daughter. And the older daughter — who had done more and earned more — was really rubbing it in and being a pill about it all.

So the dad added a ‘willingness bonus’ to the younger daughter’s payday to teach both kids a lesson.

Of course the older daughter protested and complained and said: “What is this? That’s not fair! Why does she get a willingness bonus?”

To which my friend replied: “Listen. When I ask you to take out the trash, your first answer is always ‘Yeah.. I’ll get to that later…’ The second time that I ask you, you always say ‘It’s only half full. I’ll do it tomorrow.’ The third time that I ask you, you ALWAYS have another excuse ready. It’s not until I threaten to kill you that you begrudgingly do it. Whenever I ask your sister anything, she does it with a smile and simply gets it done. She gets it done without hassle, without fuss, and without me having to expend any additional energy or thought.”

THAT’S THE LESSON

And why these two stories may seem unrelated, they are literally the exact same thing. And they are also the same story as to why Clair just dominates. And why road crews can pull off show after show after show in impossible conditions and situations. This is the essence that’s at the heart of all of my talks on “What Entertainers Can Teach Executives” and why you should hire a Roadie whenever possible for ANYTHING!

It’s not about the job description. It’s never about the roles and responsibilities. It’s about getting it done and making it work and adding value. So as you start this New Year off with a bang and really think about upping your game and making more impact, the only thing that matters is making things better and better and better at every touch point. Imagine if your company, band or organization ran like this…

Mike Dias writes and speaks about Why Nobody Likes Networking and What Entertainers Can Teach Executives. He is one of the few global leaders in Trade Show Networking and he helps companies maximize their trade show spend by ensuring that their teams are prepared, ready, and able to create and close opportunities. This column will be an ongoing monthly feature because Mike loves talking shop and is honored to give back to the community. If this article was helpful and useful in any way, please reach out anytime at Mike Dias Speaks and let Mike know about what you want to hear more about next time.

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