BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

Some years ago a dear friend of mine and I were catching up in LA over lunch, back when Sugarfish was really great and not just ho hum. Oops, sorry did I write that out loud? Anyways, we were talking about something that my friend called ‘the circle of trust’. I had not heard it described like that before but I knew what he was talking about. If I may summarise, it goes something like this. He was referring to a way of doing things in our business that was respectful to both the people and the precedents set (I was trying to think of the best adjective to describe it and ‘respectful’ kept coming out on top). In such a small industry where everyone pretty much knows everyone else; the small country town of industries if you will, how you act is both very visible and usually judged (we are a ‘judgy’ lot). Even without the pressure of judgement, we need to be aware of our ‘visibility’. Our reputation is everything and we should look after it by acting and working in a manner that is respectful to those we work with (obviously) and also to what I called earlier “precedents set”. What do I mean by this? I am not against disrupters at all and when things do need a shake, there is usually someone that comes along to oblige, but I am talking about strong and healthy business relationships. Let’s pare it back. When you buy a product in the real world, be it a fridge, a car or a house, and you hand over your hard earned money, you have certain expectations of the relationship between the seller and yourself. You like to think that the seller will manage the relationship to ensure your satisfaction with the whole arrangement. As a production manager, a production coordinator, a road manager, or a tour manager you are acting as a representative of the person who is handing over their hard earned money (in this case your client, the artist). IT IS NOT YOUR MONEY. That all may sound obvious, but it is not uncommon for people in this position of responsibility to start acting like it is (their money), however wrong that may be. I urge you to avoid this. Large retail chains use psychologists to work with employees who develop a similar trait; that of feeling that the products they are charged with selling are in fact theirs. Now we are getting to it; if you have the aforementioned roles then you are a part of this economic process but as a guardian, and a facilitator. This should also mean that you should come to the role with a respect for precedent and ongoing relationship/s. Who has been involved with your client previously? Is the relationship mutually beneficial and do both parties wish for it to continue? If the answers are positive then it is not for you to change. Too many times you hear tell of touring professionals coming to a new camp with guns blazing; cleaning a house just because they think that is the way to do it and ‘their’ (see the possessive again here) vendors are to be the ones employed. This is complete nonsense and bad business. Let’s say that your new client has an established relationship with a particular vendor that has lasted many years. You arrive as, say, a new Production Manager. Your role is, as we have said, a guardian of this relationship. So, show some respect. Understand that they may have gotten along nicely for years without you being there.

To bookend the meeting I spoke of at the top of this essay, just a few evenings ago I spent time with another friend of many years who also happens to own a trucking company that I try to use as often as I am able. The conversation went a similar way, and in this case I could hear the frustration when accounts of actual situations were told. I believe often it might be just that the production manager does not know any better but really this needs to change if it be so. The skill of production management is to be learnt. If the live sound is bad night after night and the reason is the engineer does not have the skill to mix the show, then he or she is replaced. This should be the case for the jobs of tour and production management. This understanding of the economic relationships is something that any decent manager ought to know.

My method (and remember this is just A way of doing it, not THE way), is to come to a camp, find out how the relationships are and if management has any directions for you. Then if it is a new cycle or tour, seek bids from the incumbent vendors. Also seek competitive bids from other vendors. I find today two bids is often enough, but it may be that your client will want three. Then the incumbent gets a second chance if they are being challenged. The competitor/s only have one shot. There may well be departments where there is not a need to seek competitive bids and the regular vendor just remains in place and why is this?…because the relationship is strong and has been looked after by all parties for years.

I have found my above method to be a fair one over the last 3+ decades. If you develop your own system, then it is paramount that you stick to it (in the main, with the obvious room for positive refinements). Show consistency and you will gain respect from both client and vendor and they will learn to trust your method and, by extension, you. This consistency and consequent respect is one of the foundations of your reputation. This and other foundations are crucial to your success.

It is sometimes the case that a vendor needs for some reason to let a job go, and so this method gives them a chance to do so without any issue or anything silly like a phoney price war. It is an easy reset. It is also a time for all parties to reaffirm their commitment to the relationship.

I mentioned “ positive refinements”. What do I mean? A very important and very obvious part of our job as managers involves finding efficiencies and cost savings. Maybe there is room to save some money here, or to remove a superfluous piece of the production that is just taking up space and costing money. Just refining a tour or rehearsal schedule by a day can save a significant amount depending on the size of the tour. Finding these positive refinements is what we do. If a tour is not doing so well, and you need to make some serious savings it will be an easier thing to go to vendors who have been paid well and on time over years than to someone new who has no relationship with the artist. The other part of this is that economic fundamental; when everyone makes money they are usually all happy to return and work together again, so when times are good, there is no good reason to apply pressure to reduce vendor costs arbitrarily. This is all part of being a good partner and remember you may need help some day when ticket sales are not so good. When they are, the skill is in finding savings and efficiencies within your own workflow and methods. This is not the time to cruise for silver, but rather, endeavor to get better at doing your job.

Now for a final note. The job is not done when the last load out is complete. The job is done when everyone has been paid. To that end, be disciplined with your paperwork. Sign off on invoices as soon as you get them and have done the necessary checks. Get them to business management or the accountant and make sure that you are not the one holding up payments. We do not do this job for merely the love of it, and we would not be happy if our wages were late in coming, so don’t put vendors and other contractors in that position. Encourage the business office to pay promptly if they are not doing so and you will be doing that ‘guardian’ part of your job well. Doing your job well and not just ‘doing’ your job.