Speech to Dio - Project Management

This week I was invited to speak to 120 students in Year 13 at Diocesan School for Girls on Project Management.

This is part of a Leadership Day where the girls are building the servant leadership

characteristic "provide direction", with specific focus on project management. 

As Year 13 students the girls show leadership and work in committees to organise event

throughout the year. It is up to them to make the events successful.

The presentation was 45 mins long and here is my speech based on the points set out by

the organiser.

*   An introduction about who you are and what you learnt and school and what you studied etc.

Hi my name is Hamish Pinkham. I am the Founder and Director of Rhythm Group - the festival promotion company that runs Rhythm and Vines and Rhythm and Alps. 

I started the company when I was 21 with my friend Tom Gibson and the Witters family, whose vineyard is the home of R&V in Gisborne. We had an idea for a 'project ' - a summer party for our friends on new years eve called ‘Rhythm and Vines’. 1,800 people turned up! This year – our 11^th installment of the festival - we hosted 25,000 in Gisborne and 10,000 in Wanaka.  Rhythm Group are now also doing side shows in Auckland such as Skrillex, Disclosure and Jurrassic 5.  We employ 12 staff and have an office in Britomart.

How do you get started in an event? You have all these ideas whizzing through your head as there are many aspects to creating, managing and delivering a project. First you need to have a clear vision, inspire a team and manage risk.  You need to be strong not to succumb to financial, industry pressures let alone other social factors that will try to sway from your path.  You will work with talent people of all skill sets and backgrounds and if you succeed you will most likely have found your passion.

Today I will talk to you a bit about my background, how I created and managed my project and some lessons I have learnt along the way.

Schooling

I'm 32 and grew up in Hawkes Bay where I went to Taradale High School in Napier.  It is a co-ed school of 1000 people where girls and guys mixed well - I compare it to a NZ version of Sweet Valley High.  It was pretty laid back really – we got to wear mufti in our last year of school and have free periods. My friends and I all lived nearby and used to bike and later scooter or drive to school. It was a fantastic safe community, nestled amongst the vineyards and fringed with beaches and rivers.

I grew up along the road from the Mission Estate which hosts vintage acts each year like The Doobie Brothers and Rod Stewart.  My friends and I used to head along to this each year. In my last year of school the Beach Boys were confirmed to play. A friend and I stayed up all night to get the first tickets. We got on the front page of the paper. So this concert was was perhaps an early inspiration for my career. I do remember why we can't have my musical heroes at the time Pearl Jam or Sublime in a similar summer setting? What's with all the oldies music?

Like most kiwi males I was passionate about my sport and played both rugby and cricket. I made the First XV in 5^th form and in the 6^th form we bet Napier Boys High School XV which was a huge achievement.  In the 7^th form I was captain but we got a hiding from the big boys schools – too many skinny white boys.  Cricket was a passion I played until I was about 15 and discovered surfing and girls. Two days standing out in the field soon seemed like a waste of a weekend.

I also played the guitar from when I was 10.  It wasn’t long until grunge music hit and I would spend hours learning Pearl Jam and Nirvana songs with my friends. Later on we would spend our lunch times learning Metallica, Led Zeppelin and Beatles songs. Our music teacher would also open up the room for us in the weekends but in return we agreed to be in the school choir.

I was reasonably good at English. Reading, writing and speaking. I won the school speech competition 4 out of the 5 years. Not so much maths and sciences, they were a bit too structured and rigid to me.  Too many rules and only one answer! I did do Statistics in my final year though. I was also passionate about history and geography.  I loved learning about the world – people, places, cities, wars, royalty and religion. I longed for the day when I could get out of Napier and travel the world.

Also music class was never a chore. I think it had a lot to do with our passionate teacher Mrs Pierard - the mother of reknown kiwi opera singer Madeline who is based in London. She encouraged creativity, expression and improvisation. Be original. We studied the Beatles who became an inspiration to me.  Four young guys from Liverpool who changed the world.  I dreamed of the idea of moving to London or Los Angeles and being part of its a rich musical history. And still do!

When I was 16 my parents moved to Thailand with Dad’s job working in the Embassy there. Yup Napier to Bangkok! I stayed behind though and private boarded with some family friends for my last year of school. I guess it made me more independent – I had a car, grew my hair long and had to look after myself.  It fair to say a year on my own got a few things out of my system before I got to university.  Lets say my friends from Kings and Auckland Grammar still had a bit of growing up to do once the got to Uni....

But what University to choose? During my final year I went to visit my older sister who was studying in Dunedin. I stopped in Christchurch first which was fun but my eyes really lit up when I arrived in Dunedin. The flatting culture was something else and there was a great scarfie traditions which revolved around rugby and Speights.  I made my decision to head there once I finished school. None of my friends from Hawkes Bay were heading there - they were all going to Palmerston or Wellington - but I was keen to do something different.  It was perhaps one of my first time I put myself out there and took a risk - I will speak about this shortly.

I must have done something right though as I finished my last year of school with an A Bursary which got me in to UniCol and first year law.

University

When I went to University along with my studies, I continued to be passionate about sport and music. I played rugby at University Rugby Club and it was loads of fun.  I enjoyed the camaraderie and loved meeting new people. Given I didn’t have any good friends with me in Otago I had to get out and meet people. I never said no to an opportunity and as a result I got to meet people from all over campus. Otago is great for that. Especially UniCol which is probably the more sociable hostel with over 400 people. People from all walks of life, private and public schools, cities or regional backgrounds, Auckland to Invercargill. It really is a melting pot. A network of people who were soon to get behind and help launch my project!

My degree studies started with first year law. And a few sprinkled papers in History and Geography.  It was really was an extention of my high school studies.  I was getting better grades at Geography so decided to major in that. Still to this day not sure where was taking me took me but I enjoyed learning about people and places - two passions to this day. I remember my Dad used to tell everyone I was heading towards being an Environmental Lawyer.

I got good enough grades to sneak into second year law which was a full year program including Criminal and Company Law. We had no mid year exams which meant a full 6 weeks in Thailand ‘visiting my family’ i.e. travelling with my sisters and our friends. We visited the Full Moon parties in the south and it really opened my eyes to the big wide world and experiencing an international music festival.  I continued to head back 'home' throughout my studies and saw a lot of the country.  It gave me a broad understanding of the world as I met travellers from places like England, Israel and Sweden.

A few years into University I decided I needed a new hobby so formed a little band with a couple of mates. I had still been playing guitar but was suprised how many people didn't play.  All my friends from Taradale seemed to, music was our life.  I soon found a couple of good mates to jam under the name 'Big Men on Campus' - a tounge-in-cheek reference to American college culture. We started off playing flat warmings but soon were hosting Wednesday nights at the famous Captian Cook Hotel. It was my first taste of project management as we began to rally our friends to come down and support. Soon I was running a little business - our covers band played balls, 21st's and grad parties for beer money.

As my law degree progressed I decided to build towards a more commercial and environmental focus. I liked contract law and competition law learning about business. Not so much the family and criminal stuff.  It wasn’t as creative as the business law papers.  I got reasonable grades but just wasn't that passionate about the law.  Especially when I began to hatch a plan for my summer music festival….

It was in my second to last year that my friend Tom came up to me at flat with an idea for an end of year new years eve party.  He suggested our band could play at it. I thought rather than have a summer job let's organise the party instead. A lot of friends were leaving Uni to hit the real world and the idea of a final get together would be perfect!  I couldn't think of anything worse than doing a summer internship at a big law firm, it just wasn't where my future lay. Who was I kidding?Getting some experience running a small concert would give me some great contacts and experience to perhaps get a foot in the door in the music industry. And some promotion for our band! The perfect project to manage!

After five memorable years in Otago I finished my LLB and a BA major in Geography. In a nod to my future in my last year I took a Music Industry paper. It was Thursday 8am after a traditional Wednesday night at the Cook but I turned up every week with out fail. I got an A+. 

It was clear where my passion and future lay...

 *   Your story

Behind the Vines - 10 year anniversary doco

 *   Some key aspects of project management and some skills that the girls will require to plan and implement their events.

Have a clear vision. It is important to know what you want to achieve. When we started our festival I knew quite clearly what we DIDN'T want to be. At the time there was nothing to do for New Year Eve in NZ.  Lineup at some old tavern to watch the same old NZ pub bands that played up and down the country.  Or join the riots in Taupo, Whangamata or Wanaka.  To be honest I didn’t do much of that anyway I was in Thailand with my parents. But last thing I want to do if sit around a batch playing drinking games or walking the streets picking fights. 

So we dreamt up what we DID want.  Sure it took a bit of fleshing out over a few beers down at the local pub Gardies.  We wanted a cool concert somewhere safe and secure.  Attended by networks of mates and friends of friends from all round NZ.  A premium venue. A catchy name - Rhythm and Vines summed it up really. Music in the vineyard. We got a poster drawn up with some key photos - almost like a vision board.  Once we had our vision we just need to realise it.

Don’t be scared to surround yourself with experts. When we started our project we got a mentor in the form of my friend’s father Dean Witters.  He provided some start up capital, put together our initial budgets and establish a business structure.  But most of all gave us confidence to go head first into our venture.  With an experienced business man like Dean on board we were able to talk about our concert around Dunedin with a swagger in our step. I could ring band mangers or speak to sponsors like Vodafone or Heineken as I knew I had someone to back me up and bounce things off. He was tough on us but was able to guide us to help realise our vision.  My father who was a Detective Inspector had led some large police investigations.  He came in to help us secure the liquor licence and having managed some large projects encouraged us to write checklists to help us work through all the jobs that needed doing.  We couldn't have got off the ground without them. So have no qualms about ASKING FOR HELP.

As the festival grew we bought in more industry experts. A big step was in the third year when we booked Fat Freddy’s Drop. At the time they were the biggest band in NZ. We sold twice as many tickets - 10,000. To say we were shitting ourselves was an understatement. We needed to grow our team.  We hired an event manager recently returned from the UK working on large events. We then engaged some experience production managers who worked on Splore Festival who are still with us today.

When we had exhausted our resources in NZ and wanted to go multi-day festival we bought on a UK consultant who had worked on big three day festivals like Glastonbury and Exit festival.  Again not necessarily to do all the work but to guide us and give us confidence. And to learn off. He had been there before. Having mentors and experience around you is invaluable. They also push you. If you want to be the fastest runner then surround yourself with sprinters.

Now days we continue to learn and grow.  We have an independent board consisting of the Chairmen of the Waikato Chiefs and also NZ leading Entertainment lawyer.  Experienced business people to keep us in line and realise our vision.  I attend conferences oversees to build contacts, get new ideas and develop industry knowledge.  It is important to keep learning and growing. You only know what you know!

Action. From that very first meeting Tom and I had at Gardies we were putting our ideas into action. First step was deciding to meet up and flesh out our idea. We brainstormed everything from the name, the venue, the people we would invite. Then we flew up to Gisborne and met with Dean Witters. We came up with a name, printed posters and handed out flyers.  We MADE our project happen.

When we knew we wanted to book the Black Seeds to headline the first event Dean said 'Call them up and ask for a price'. Once we had a quote that fit our budget he said ring back and confirm. Just do it. NOW! And we did. And they confirmed.  And just like that we had our headliner. Boom!

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step. 

And it is important to take that step.

Managing risk.  Managing any project requires an element of risk.  And you need to have a capacity for such risk. 

The first risk was putting ourselves out there. I know some of my closest friends were trying to persuade us OUT of our venture. What is this party? How the hell do you think you can you get everyone to Gisborne? You really AREN'T going to do a law internship? We had to go against the grain. Many friends were getting summer jobs at law firms and here we were in Gisborne surfing and planning some big summer party! It sounds easier than it was but it was a huge risk to put ourselves out there.

When I left University I did my bar exam and many friends were heading up to the big law firms. If anything my professional studies put me off, or maybe I was just tired after 5 and a half year of study.  So I decided to take a risk and go travelling. On my travels I visited some big festivals in the Uk and US.  It dawned on me we had the bones in place to create something similar.  This trip inspired me to pass up on a career as a lawyer and follow my dream building my music festival. Another big risk.

Finally as the event draws close you have to manage all sorts of real time risk. Weather. Crowd behaviour.  Bands not showing up.  Every aspect of the project is at risk so it is important to have everything covered and plan for the worst.  Last year a sound truck went off the cliff and we only just managed to find a replacement in time.  But the show MUST go on.  You HAVE to make it work. You have a commitment to your contractors, to the punters and to yourself.  So all this pressure takes a fair bit of balls. You have to have a steely resolve, and hold on.

Sacrifice and Commitment

Achieving anything takes hard work and focus. I like to think working on this project is living the dream and still do. We run a sustainable business in a industry we are passionate about. You can't ask for much more.  But it takes sacrifice.

First of all I had to sacrifice my university summer holiday working as a builders apprentice to get the initial project off the ground. Big decision that one....

Then as our project gained momentum, I had to sacrifice a career...as a lawyer. Another big decision! My parents were concerned I spent 5 and half years studying to then appear to just drop it to build my music festival.  It is not though my degree was for nothing. It is important to get an education behind you. My law degree has helped me significantly.  Mainly in negotiation, reading and writing contracts, constructing arguments. Not being scared of documents and process.  Most of all I think it gave me confidence to go into business. I highly recommend getting a degree behind you.

When I graduated friends were all living in the city, working 9-5 jobs, pay checks and Friday night drinks. Meanwhile I was sleeping couches, dreaming, hustling, travelling, networking, schmoozing before moving to Gisborne for the summer to deliver the festival. There was no way I was going to get stuck in a corporate job when I had my project to manage!

I had always thought I would move to London to live but when we decided to expand the festival to three days, I decided to settle in Auckland.  I had to give up my dream of living overseas to focus on my new dream of building a world class music festival in NZ. Was a tough decision for me at the time but one I knew I had to do. I could see the potential but knew I had to knuckle down with our small team and make it work. I worked out of my bedroom until we borrowed a few desks at an office and finally got our own space.

So you will often have to give something up in the pursuit of your goals. It may be time with family and friends.  I haven’t had a proper silly season let alone proper Xmas in 11 years. Think about that for a minute. No Xmas fever catching up with family and friends. No Christmas in the Park, work parties, BBQ's in Dec with your mates.  My mind is often in festival mode and although I do have Xmas Day with my family I head away on Boxing Day back to Gisborne. I look at friends on Facebook in Pauanui and Taupo and get jealous I don't get to enjoy that key holiday time relaxing at the beach. 

I guess I'll just have to make up for it in Brazil next month.

Have fun! It is important to have fun.  Actually it is imperative.  In anything you do.  Do something you are passionate about. Work with people that inspire you and lift you up.  Keep learning. Set bigger goals than the project so you can see this as just one stepping stone on the way to success. I wanted to join the music industry so I started a music festival. 

Where do you want to end up and what project can you manage that will launch you there?  And be fun along the way!

Recap - So there is a few things to keep in mind project management. Be clear about what you want to achieve, or even if you know what you don't want. ASK for help and surround yourself with experienced people you can learn off. Take action NOW. Make it happen.  Just chip away. But make a start. And remember you may have to give something up in the acquisition of your dream. But as long as your are happy and having fun - it will all be worth it.

 * What challenges you faced and how you overcame them 

Staying on track - I constantly had to reaffirm to myself what I was trying to achieve. My parents and friends tried to take me aside and say 'do  you know what you are doing?' Of course I didn't know what I was doing! But I had a vision.  Of course they were supportive of me, they were just concerned and looking out for me. I used to see it as a test. How much did I really want it. It took a fair bit of explaining some time, trying to justify your vision and what you were trying to achieve.  I would often get asked by family friends when I was going to get a real job. What is a real job? Being a teacher at an Auckland private school with 2 weeks holiday every three months and 6 week over summer? Working in a top law firm til 10pm every night not getting to see friends and family let alone the chance to play my guitar or travel? Or working 9-5 day in day out in a job you don't like for a company you don't believe in? It wasn't for me. 

You will get questioned and queried but remember - you don't to answer to anyone but yourself.  Just stay on track.

Tall Poppy Syndrome- you will constantly getting challenged by people who don't want you to succeed. Even close friends will appear to undermine you try and put you off achieving your goals. Some of the time it is jealousy.  People get a bit upset when they see others getting off their ass giving
it a go.

They key to so surround yourself with positive people. People that will lift you up and support you and your dream.  It is hard in any project to stick your neck out. But please do. We need more Tall Poppies to lead and deliver projects. And help inspire others.

My theory is if you think of a good idea, then someone is going to do it and that someone might as well be you! No matter what people say.

Industry pressures - when we started we were the new kid on the block in the music industry.  A couple of upstarts running some party in Gisborne.  A few friends in the music industry advised us otherwise.  After some debacles like Sweetwaters and The Gathering, festivals were a poisoned chalice in this country and doomed to fail.  We stumbled on a great recipe and some how managed to make it work.

When we started to have some success we encountered more industry pressures. Agents and bands wanted more money. Councils wanted more consents and compliance.  Industry 'friends' wanted more comp tickets. Soon we had other festivals replicating our concept and success.  Now we also have external pressures as prices of artists go up and competing offers from other festivals in USA and Australia.  

There are always going to be curveballs so it pays to be ahead of the curve, not give in to pressure and stick to your guns. Don't be scared to say no.

Financial - any commercial venture comes with financial risk.  The first year we ran our event we lost $20,000. Being 50% shareholders in the company that was a pretty big burden to stomach in your early 20's. Soon we were back on track but needed further capital to run the event. We soon had staff that required salaries, office costs, deposits for bands, marketing. There was huge outlay on the hope it would all come back as ticket sales. Scary stuff!

When we expanded the event to three days it got even more risky. Booking international acts, responsibilities to big corporate sponsors, liasions with powerful media partners.  As we grew our budgets soon blew out in a number of areas - production, artists and security. We didn't really know what our project cost because it was all new territory. As a result we lost a considerable amount of money. To over come this we worked hard to understand our true costs and keep our budgets in line, while ensuring we got the required ticket and sponsorship revenue to stay in business.

So the lesson here is you need to stick to a budget or things can soon go horribly wrong.

What to do next - decisions decisions decisions! Once we had some initial success with our project where do we go? Do we keep the event to one day kiwi music? Or expand to three days? Roots music? Dance Music? Hip hop? So many directions and decisions to make! It can all be a bit overwhelming.

Again it is important to be clear about what you want to achieve. We sit around and debate, dream argue and then set out our plan. Not just 12 month but also three - five year business plans. Four years ago we decided to start a festival in the South Island. We had a goal of selling 10k tickets within three years of operation.  We had two years in Methven with limited success but we were slowly building our project.  This year moved it to Wanaka. Immediately it was a sell out 10k tickets!

So list out all the options, pick a path and stick to it.  

Conclusion - It is not always easy managing projects and there will be challenges along the way. You will get queried and questioned, sometimes undermined. Beware of jealousy it is as Shakespear said 'the Green Eyed Monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on'.  But stay on track. Stay true to your vision.  Surround yourself with like minded people.  Stick to your plan and as Winston Churchill once said 'Never Ever Give up'

 *   What you love about your job and how the skills they learn at school will be so valuable for their future careers.

Working with people that are passionate about our product/project. We have a passionate and committed team. Many of them are world class event professionals. To see them do their job and apply their skills and talents at the highest level makes me proud. Our company has provided this opportunity. Otherwise who knows many will be back to organizing production at weddings and putting up marquees at corporate Xmas parties.

And our customers.  They LOVE their time at our festivals so much.  For many it is their first big musical experience. It is their big trip away from home. It is a memory with their friends they will have for the rest of their lives.  You can see it on people's faces when they attend and depart. They are having the time of their life. It is an honor to present this to them.

Working in the industry I love. From those very first days of being inspired by the Beatles, attending the Mission Concert or managing my own little band in Dunedin - I have loved working in the music industry.  Having dream of being a musician myself it was been an honor seeing bands like Six60, The Naked and Famous and Kora coming through the ranks performing on our stage to take on the world. It is satisfying part of my job.

Being a NZ owned and operated company. I’m a proud kiwi. And even more proud that we run a kiwi owned project.  Lots of our competition like the Big Day Out and Laneways are Australian owned. But we are homegrown. And I like to think we have a unique kiwi spin on all our events be in music, food or setting.

My next venture I want to be part of taking NZ to the world. I'm inspired by world class kiwi’s such as Peter Jackson, Lorde and Zane Lowe doing well in the creative industries overseas. 

Watch this space!

In terms of skills.  With managing projects and pulling all the aspects together takes a wide range of skills. You have to relate well and manage people. You need to work in a team environment, sharing ideas and delegating jobs. You have to be punctual and meet deadlines.  You need to communicate both written and verabally. You need to be organised.  Or at least have someone in your team who is! 

I'm not really a detail-orientated person. Even though I did do a law degree which teaches you to be thorough and precise in your dealings, I'm more a creative, visionary, 'overview' kind of guy.  I'm front facing on our projects - marketing, media, booking bands, dealing with sponsors.  You won't find me on a walkie talkie ordering people around.  Or setting up the sound gear.  Or on a forklift wearing a hi-vis.  You can't have it all so remember to build a team with all sorts of skills. 

We have two teams in our company. The 'offense' if you like I guess which set the vision, books the bands, markets the event and sell the tickets, and the 'defense' who then delivers the project - who set up the venue, the production manage the delivery of the show and then packs it in and out. And a third I guess who do the accounts and make sure everyone gets paid.

General respect for people is important. You will learn that the real world is not full of cliques that protect and support you. Yes you need tight partnerships and be able to rely on and trust people. But to pull off a successful project you need to work and engage with all sort of people. The sooner you learn this and have respect for all types of personalities, ideas and skill sets the better.  Patience and manners will go a long way.

   

On the back this comes networking. It is important to meet and make connections with different people. Judge people on their merits and take them for who they are. Take pride in having a wide social and professional circle. Mix with those in different industries, cultures and beliefs.  You never know what you may learn or who may come in handy down the track.

Find your passion. What grinds your gears. What excites you? What is your dream? What is your PASSION. 

It is ok if you don't know yet. But the sooner you know the better. Start by writing an ideas board about your future.  What do you enjoy? Who is your idol? What industry do you dream about? What magazines do you read? What do you spend your money on? Music? Clothes? Food? Travel? 

For me it was music. And people.  And in time a love of NZ, business, tourism.  I have been able to combine this to create a successful and sustainable business which encapulates my passion.  

* Conclusion

So a career in project management can be super rewarding. You can surround yourself with people who love their job and work on a projects that you and your customers love. You will need a wide set of skills.  You will need to have respect all people, their ideas and personalities. You will never fail to keep learning.

My last piece of advice to you today is to be original. The world needs more colour. More flair. More risk. Stand out from the crowd.  Think outside the box.  If you were a yogurt how could you make yourself different from the fifty other yogurts on the store shelf?

Please don't be vanilla. Each one of you are unique individuals so be the best version of yourself.

And find and follow that passion.  You will never work another day in your life!

What if money was no object?