2001 - The "e"-Odyssey Part One
The Moment: How an elevator ride can change your life
This story gives a whole new meaning to the term “Elevator Pitch”. You see, it all started in an elevator. Well, maybe not officially, but that’s where things really took off.
The actual start is a much longer story for another time. Let’s just say that at 2pm on a Wednesday, Kenn Kristofferson, Lindsay Dann and I got together to discuss an idea. By 4pm on Friday, e=mc² event management inc.
was incorporated and an office space was found. Kenn and I spent the weekend painting the office and on Monday we were up and running.
World Track and Field Championships
Two weeks later, Lindsay convinced us that we should all go to Edmonton to see the festivities happening at the World Track and Field Championships. Apparently, there would be lots to see, including backstage of the Paul Brandt and Colin James concert in the park.
Not knowing why a drive up to Edmonton to see a concert and some track and field champions would be all that relevant to me, or to our brand new company, I blindly jumped on the bandwagon and off we went. I don’t remember the drive, the track and field events or much of the backstage tour, but I’ll never forget the elevator ride at the Westin Hotel. It was then and there I learned that conversations matter and, in some instances, can lead to unimaginable opportunities.
The Elevator
Kenn, Lindsay, and I walked into the elevator where we met a man, who I didn’t know at the time would change the course of my life. I’m sure I said hi and turned to face the front as, back then, I would normally do during most elevator rides.
But this ride was different. Unprompted, Lindsay, standing next to me, said: “You’re Dick Wilson, aren’t you?” And off we went.
The next day, we ran into Dick and his wife Nancy in the lobby. We said hello and a few pleasantries and then Lindsay assured him that Kenn and I would follow up with him soon.
We had our marching orders: follow up with Dick Wilson who worked for this company called Alberta Energy Company (AEC).
Okay.
Check.
Got it.
We’ll call the nice man from the elevator.
Follow Your Intuition and Magic Starts to Happen
Not knowing exactly why and with no expectations, we called Dick and ended up booking a meeting with him.
We marched into his office, eager and ready to take on the world, but not really knowing what any of it meant yet. We soon found out.
Dick told us he was going to hire us to produce the corporate Christmas party for AEC alongside the existing social committee. Now remember, in 2001, the idea of outsourcing a Christmas party was very rare especially in corporate Calgary. But apparently this man from the elevator had a good feeling about us and also a lot of sway at AEC. He thought it would be a good thing to try out.
Had Lindsay not said a word in the elevator in Edmonton, our lives would be much different today. To be honest, I’m not even sure the e-team would still be around. Talk about a leap of faith on both sides!
That Christmas party came and went. It was attended by 650 guests (a HUGE number for us back then) and took place at the Palomino Room in the BMO Centre. I remember so many things about the event - the decor, the gifts, the fireplace on stage where the CEO and his wife sat and Farmer’s Daughters performing. But most of all . . . I remember the rush I felt through my body feeding off of the amazing energy in the room.
One thing is certain, I’m glad we followed our intuition and leapt not knowing what was on the other side. There was definitely some magic at play!
The Timeline - From an elevator to New York to 4,500 guests at Calgary Olympic Oval
After the Christmas party took place in mid-December, it was full steam ahead.
January – Kenn and I got a call from Dick. Something was brewing and something big was going to happen. He couldn’t tell us much, but he put us on alert that we were going to be involved in something large. Hold on tight.
Mid-February – We were brought into the circle of trust and learned that a large merger was about to take place and that we were going to be part of the launch. The entity was going to be the largest independent oil and gas company in North America. e=mc² was going to be hired as the event production company and we were going to officially launch this company on April 4th. To think not many months ago we opened our office doors for the first time.
April 4th – After only a couple of months to plan, I was on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the Chairman, his wife, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, Dick’s favourite PR partner, Rosemarie Enslin, and a slew of technical producers who were going to broadcast the ringing of the NYSE bell.
Back in Calgary, Kenn was hosting the event for 4,500 employees, and where the CEO of the new company was having live conversations with us on the NYSE floor. [We were doing hybrid events long before COVID-19.]
April 19 – EnCana Day. With the launch over, it was time to celebrate and set the standard for what e=mc² events was about to become. And with that, we brought together 4,500 people at the Calgary Olympic Oval for the biggest corporate party this city had ever seen.
Phew. So that happened.
It was surreal. All at the same time, it was beyond exciting and exhilarating, frightening and intimidating, rewarding and life altering.
EnCana had just set a new standard in corporate Calgary on the purpose of events in relation to how to treat, honour and recognize their employees. They put their stake in the ground and all of corporate Calgary was watching.
EnCana arrived and, as a direct result, e=mc² events was ready to take on any and all that came our way.
I can’t begin to imagine what our story would have been had we not gotten on that exact elevator at that exact time, nor do I want to. That elevator ride, without a doubt, granted us a start to a very cool future, surrounded by amazing people, experiencing great adventures together, while learning life lessons that will never ever be forgotten.
When you put all of this together and amplify it by embracing your intuition and following your gut, when you leap, the bridge truly will appear. Your very own odyssey awaits.
Some Valuable Lessons
There were many key learnings taken from this experience, but here are a few that stand out to me in hindsight.
Trust:
Find people you can trust and then trust them.
Full stop. Trust your people.
One of the biggest lessons that came from working with Dick was to put your trust in the people with whom you build partnerships. This was never stated – that's just the way Dick made us feel from day one.
The details of this merger were of the highest confidentiality and often required us to sneak in after hours to work with Dick on getting all the insights we needed. So, not only were we trusted with information that only a handful of senior executives had, we were trusted to put on the event of a lifetime.
When you give unfettered trust to someone, they have no choice but to lean in and embrace it.
I, personally, did not know the magnitude of the road we were headed on with these large events, but I did know that failure was not an option. And when someone trusts you to do great work and failure is not an option, magic can happen!
Collaboration:
Dick introduced us to all stakeholders and partners from day one. There was no concealing information for or from anyone. Many things we heard were not relevant to us, but it certainly gave us the insight, the knowledge, and the deep understanding of who the client was, what the big picture thinking was and how our role intersected with others.
Unfettered access to information allowed us to produce cohesive experiences from start to finish. We took this art of collaboration into all that we did with our vendors and partners and have never wavered from this approach.
I will never forget our first large vendor meeting where we had 15 of us around the boardroom table and asked for everyone’s opinions on how to put this event on. Each of our suppliers (AV, lighting, décor, food and beverage, and entertainment) all looked at us strangely when they walked into the room.
I didn’t know at the time, but this was not the way things were done in the event industry, but it certainly became the way of the future. Our future.
Ask Questions & Be Resourceful:
This lesson actually started with my dad who taught me at a very young age to never pretend to know things. Pretending was fine until someone started paying you to, in fact, know things. How could I fake my way through opening a company on the New York Stock Exchange and then throwing the biggest party Calgary had ever seen?
The only way to succeed was to ask the right people the right questions. This was not always easy, as we didn’t want to come across as amateurs, but it was the
only way.
It became very evident that if we pretended to know something we didn't, we were going to make huge mistakes. When failure is not an option, mistakes are not an option, therefore we asked every question we needed to find out the answers!
Enjoy What You Do and the People With Whom You Do It:
Dick Wilson, the man from the elevator, had surrounded himself with professionals who were also fun, positive and outgoing. He knew that he didn’t have to be the smartest person in the room, but he knew he had to surround himself with people who were experts in their own fields.
When we work as hard as we do, it is imperative to be doing so beside people who make us laugh, smile and who help us to become better versions of ourselves.
So thank you Mr. Wilson.
That fateful elevator ride was truly the start to something amazing and unforgettable. I am so appreciative of you, Nancy, your whole family, and your work family for embracing us, trusting us and letting us fly.
Our 2001 The "e" - Odyssey will continue with a story about the event that really did change the trajectory of our lives.
