Leadership / 07.20.23
26 Ideas to Help Make Your Life Better: Amazing Random Advice From Ticketing Professionals
Christine Payne
INTIX is a great community full of people who always want the best for each other. We share knowledge, help out and cheer each other on.
So, we thought, why not reach out to ticketing professionals far and wide to curate a list of all their best random advice?
Any one of these ideas could get you moving in a new direction or change your life for the better.
You may even be inspired to share them with someone else — and we encourage it!
Without further adieu, here are 26 ideas from peers who want you to have all the advantages that good life advice can bring.
- “Always be kind to those on your way up the ladder. You never know who you will meet on your way down,” Ken Paul, Sales Manager for Vivaticket, says.
Ticketing and arts festival consultant Will Quekett echoed Ken’s advice: “One of my first bosses used to say, ‘Those you meet on the way up, you meet on the way down’ — this bit of advice has proved to be quite true!”
- “Always invest in a good pair of shoes (especially when attending INTIX) and a good mattress as you spend a third of your time in bed and a third on your feet. Your body will thank you for it,” Peter I'anson, Head of Partnerships and New Business for JM Marketing, which operates SecureMyBooking.com, says.
- "You know because you verified!" This is very good advice from Ebony Hattix, Director, Guest Relations, Arena Operations for the Memphis Grizzlies and FedExForum.
- “The freedom you get from setting boundaries is worth the struggle it takes to set them,” Jennifer Ferguson, Box Office Manager for the Akron Civic Theatre, shares.
- “Never let vacation or PTO days roll over,” Linda Forlini, now retired after a successful ticketing career that spanned over a quarter century, recommends. “You need to step away and recharge your batteries not only for your physical health but mental health also.”
Mardi Dilger, who is also retired after a stellar lifelong career in ticketing, agrees with Linda. She emphasizes, “This is so true. I learned the hard way. Retirement taught me to finally see the light. Peeps, don’t do as I did, do as Linda stated.”
We couldn’t agree more! Also read: The Importance of Taking Time to Take Time Off.
- “Practice gratitude,” Karen Sullivan, Senior Consultant for FutureTix, says. “When I find myself complaining, I try to remember to be grateful for something good in my life. There is a lot more good than bad around.”
- “Your reputation takes a lifetime to build and minutes to destroy,” Derek Palmer, Chief Revenue Officer at Project Admission, says.
- “Ask yourself, ‘What can I create?’” Teddy Durgin, writer extraordinaire for INTIX Access, says. “We consume. And yet, somehow it leaves us empty … Creation fuels the world, and it will fuel you. Write, draw a picture, plant a garden, build something with your hands, or just create a new habit that replaces a toxic behavior. You are the creator of your life.”
- “Always be open to new ideas,” Jo Michel, Managing Director at Ticketing Australia, offers. “Encourage the whole team to be creative.”
- Focus on the good. “Never forget to bring up the good to your employees more than you bring up the bad,” Raleigh Hawk, SUNY Fredonia’s Ticketing and Customer Service Manager, recommends.
Sarah Goodson Anderson, Implementation Manager at TixTrack, agrees. “I’ve always said that as humans, we spend way too much time dwelling on the things that have gone wrong, trying to figure out how to prevent them from happening again, when we really should be focusing on the things that go right and how to recreate that in other areas of our lives. Focus on the good, not the bad.”
- “When all else fails, don’t overthink something: Just make it work,” Mike Karczewski, Director of Ticketing at Carolina Theatre of Durham, says.
Jo Michel offered similar advice, saying, “Mistakes happen. Own them and move on to a solution.”
- “When poop hits the fan, turn the fan off!” Maureen Andersen, President and CEO of INTIX, says. “But better yet, remain teachable.”
- “Be a mentor,” Linda Forlini recommends.
We couldn’t have said it better, Linda! INTIX makes it easy to mentor an industry peer. Ditto if you are looking for mentorship. Visit our website to learn more about the INTIX Mentor Program in partnership with Red61.
- Help others who are struggling. “During a profound AREDIA training session, the facilitator said, ‘This isn’t an oppression Olympics. My struggle doesn’t make someone else’s struggle more or less than what it is,’” Shawn Robertson, Ticket Sales Director for the Center Theatre Group, recalls. “It is important to remember that others are struggling too. Don’t compete. Help each other get through it.”
- “Travel light,” Anja Arvo, Pre-Sales Manager for Red61, says.
This sage advice will keep things plane and simple whether you are on the road, for business or leisure. Ha! See what we did there?
- "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane," Kacy Woody, Box Office Manager at the High Point Theatre in North Carolina, says. “You have to have a sense of humor about life. I find that looking for the humor or irony in a stressful situation helps to keep me from getting overwhelmed. It's a different spin on the old adage ‘Laughter Is the Best Medicine.’"
And a great spin on that it is, indeed, Kacy!
- “When dealing with customers, it is important to realize that while this may be just another day at the office for you, it might be the most important event of their year or even their lives,” Jennifer Aprea, who has 20+ years of experience and is currently open to new opportunities, reminds us. “Treat them accordingly.”
- “The customer is not always right, but they keep the lights on,” Angie Blaisdell, Senior Ticketing Manager for event producer Mammoth Live, says.
- Leave things better than how you found them. “Our community is small; everyone knows someone who knows someone,” Linda Forlini says. “Leave places better than when you arrived. Burning bridges is not in your best interest, ever.”
Sarah Goodson Anderson expands on that thought, saying, “Be vulnerable and be brave. Be authentic and be kind. Leave everything better than you found it.”
- “Go out with grace,” Mike Karczewski recommends. “Give plenty of notice, and always leave detailed instructions and organized information … You never know when the day will come when you need that positive reference.”
- "Stay where your feet are." This was perhaps the most popular advice we received from the community. Melanie Leis, SVP of Sales, North America at Tappit, recommends, “Stop stressing about tomorrow, next week, and leave yesterday's bumps and mistakes behind you. Learn from them, but don’t lug them around like a backpack of rocks. Do your very best right here, right now, and stay where your feet are!”
Aren Murray, Operations Manager, U.S., for Tixly, agrees. “Wherever you go, there you are," she says. Aren elaborates, “You need to take care of yourself, understand yourself, and realize that sometimes you are the cause of your situations. So, instead of blaming life, others [or] the system, you should look to creating the ‘you’ that you want to be. This is not something I tend to tell people; it is a mantra to myself, but [I] thought I should share [it] for once. Love yourself with the love that wants the best for yourself.”
- "If you are having a problem with everyone, the problem is probably you," Tammy Enright, IT Project Manager for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, shares. “It is a great lens to check one's own attitude or contribution to the situation,” she says, adding that she said “probably,” meaning that sometimes, it is actually everyone else.
Jennifer Ferguson made the same point in this comment: “On the days I feel that everyone is an a-hole, I have to remind myself that statistically, it is impossible for everyone to be an a-hole, which means I am probably the one being an a-hole.”
Aren Murray says this is not necessarily so. “Sometimes we get so pulled down by the people who are in holes themselves that we can't see the sunshine. It is still out there, and sometimes we need to take a moment to reassess what we are actually seeing. The emotional labor we do can cause us to build a hard shell that becomes defensive. Looking for the beauty can help lift that shell and help us see that there is still good. Love yourself and give yourself grace while remembering to reinforce memories of good experiences instead of renting all that head space to people and situations that are not worthy of it.”
- “Learn the ‘Feel, Felt, Found’ technique.” This is a great sales tactic that Amy Kline, Head of U.S. Customer Success for Activity Stream, uses in client relations. She says, “It is an empathy strategy that shows you are understanding their frustration, that others feel the same way and then provides a solution, a workaround or a timeline.” For those who want to learn more, Amy recommends this article.
- “Always say Sir and Ma'am and always wash your face in the morning,” says an anonymous friend of the industry.
This is good advice, Sir!
- Aren Murray offers this tip on the practical side: “A safety pin in the hem of your dress will remove all static cling. True story!”
I’m totally going to try this myself!
- “Sunscreen would be it,” Hein Hofman, Senior Account and Project Manager for The Cre8ion Lab, says. Hein then brought me immediately back to 1999, sharing the video of a spoken-word song that many will recall — Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen).” It is based on a hypothetical commencement speech written by Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich.
Thanks, Hein! Lots more good advice in this video!
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Tags: Leadership , Advice