Interview with Alexander Shumovich to the magazine "Technology of the Holiday"
Does an event organizer need special education? Until now, there are two answers to this question, one is necessary, the other is completely unnecessary, it is important that a person wants to do this business, that he likes it, the rest is a matter of practice! Probably, both are correct, because for those who order an event, the main thing is that the event succeeds. However, if once upon a time, at the dawn of the development of the event industry, it was easier to gain experience than some kind of education, then today there are schools, courses, academies, seminars, etc. p. There are such a number of events that everyone who wants to engage in or is already involved in organizing events can easily choose the educational course they need. Our interview today is dedicated specifically to issues of education in the event industry. And our questions will be answered by Alexander Shumovich, managing partner, director of the Eventum Premo company, which he founded together with his partner, Alexey Berlov, and author of several books on event management. We have already informed that Eventum Premo has launched a new Eventist/Mini-MBA project in the field of event organization. The project, in my opinion, is unusual, but interesting. And the interview itself is mostly about him.
Alexander, today in Russia, and especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, a large number of different educational events are taking place. Why did you decide that you need to do another educational course? How is it different from others?
In our work, we try not to focus on competitors, but strive to focus on the quality of the product. In this case, we wanted to create a useful training program for our employees, structurally similar to an MBA. We have accumulated a large amount of knowledge, which is already difficult to share face-to-face, and we decided to create a comprehensive program in different areas of business management. In addition, this is a reason to invite partners and contractors to speak.
Since our experience and cases are of interest to many companies, we decided to make the training format open, so that colleagues from other agencies also come to our seminars.
Why are seminars held once a month? Wouldn’t it be easier to make a weekly or monthly course so that students don’t forget anything by the next seminar? Or are these lectures completely unrelated to each other and by skipping a topic that is not interesting, in his opinion, the listener will receive sufficient information for his further activities?
We want to make the learning process continuous and stress-free. Allocating 2-3 days for training is not so easy when you are constantly working on projects. But setting aside 4 hours is almost always possible. In addition, we like a certain rhythm - every month there is something to do - it’s like turning in an issue of a magazine. You think much more often about the fact that you need to study, you need to prepare, you need to think.
Eventum Premo is a successful agency, and it is obvious that running these seminars is not a very profitable business. For what?
For this initiative, the financial component means nothing at all. We came up with a project that allows us to take children to different interesting sites, introduce them to interesting people and new contractors, and make friends with Clients. If it costs money, we are ready to pay for it. If it brings in money, great, you’ll have money to buy fruit and alcohol!
Don't you feel sorry for parting with secrets? After all, by and large, you share them with future competitors.
In a good seminar, communication is not one-way, but multi-way. Everyone communicates, shares thoughts, facts, rumors. The market situation changes very quickly and there is no hidden knowledge that will give an advantage in the long run. If you are sitting with a certain secret that no one knows about for six months, then then no one will need it or be interested in it. So we don’t languish over secrets, but strive to actively communicate with all market participants in order to feel what is relevant.
How do you assess the current level of education of event organizers in Russia?
I haven't followed this, so I can't say for sure. It seems that there are no serious academic programs, at least I have not heard about them, and their graduates do not come to work with us. However, talking with graduates of serious foreign universities who focus on event management, I cannot say that everything is fine there too. They are taught something, but it is banal, there is nothing special. As for short-term programs, interesting initiatives from commercial companies arise from time to time. Although there are not many of them, I would like more. We love to learn.
Otherwise, the event manager is left to his own devices and is looking for where and what to learn.
If, in your opinion, education needs to be improved, then what ways do you see for this?
Both individuals and organizations must constantly change. This is the secret of survival. When you stop changing, that means it’s time to go to the morgue. And to change, you need new ideas, knowledge, people. You can get this from books, the Internet, attending events, seminars, for example. There are many ways, the main thing is to continue using them and not stop.
Interviewed by Yuri Safronov
