I was fortunate enough to see the spectacle that is a live Tool show in Los Angeles recently, as part of a friend’s 50th birthday weekend celebrations. For those uninitiated, Tool has been described as anything from a metal band with ‘intricate polyrhythms and mathematically guided time signatures’ to ‘Rock’s most lovable pseudo-intellectuals’. Never-the-less, the band has been together making music for 31 years, which has created a passionate legion of fans around the world.
As with any concert these days, one becomes accustomed to a sea of cell-phones aloft, recording their favorite moments for Instagram or whatever the social media du jour is.
This night would be different and thank goodness.
Inside the sold-out 20,000 seat Crypto.com arena in downtown LA, the lights went down and the cheering started for the main act. Maynard, ever both the hero and sardonic anti-hero of every 40 and 50 something year old white male in the audience, came on stage with a new paradigm for the evening….
“How about we go on a two-hour journey together tonight WITHOUT your coveted cellphones? Nobody behind you wants to watch the show through your cell phone. Put your ***damn cellphones away and we will let you know it’s our last song and all you crack-cell-phone-fiends can record as much as you like”.
The amazing thing; IT WORKED. 20,000 people put their phones away and were PRESENT for the entire two hours. It was an entirely different and incredible experience. Simply by stating clearly the rules of engagement, everyone complied and GASP….had a memorable experience.
It’s true, nobody wants to piss off the boss- Maynard, the lead singer of a fearsome metal band in this case, but some not-so-bright folks took their chances and paid the price in subsequent shows. Actions do have conseqeunces.
So- what did I learn?
Firmly and clearly sharing the rules at the start of any event or meeting – even in a room of 20,000 people is a great starting point. This can apply to moderators of slack groups, facebook pages or meetups, as well as prior to employee-off-sites. Giving clear and concise direction gives our fellow humans the necessary guardrails to have a great experience- AND to get out of the program what THEY need.
Yes, there are exceptions to this approach and yes, you do often want to have folks on your team be part of some decision making processes, but in my 24 years in business, more often than not, I’ve found when everyone is clear on the rules, the results are MUCH better than if there is no clear expectation shared…pseudo-intellectual metal show or not.
Check out these middle-school kids’ tribute to Tool for some inspiration- just don’t use your cell phone ; )
Cheers-
Dave
