Five Lessons, Two Months
My learnings through the biggest project of my career.
Two months ago I walked into the biggest project of my career. I am walking out of it with five things I want to hand to you.
Some of these I learned. Some I already knew and the last 74 days just carved them deeper. Either way, here they are.
1. The future of this business does not look like its past
For years, what mattered was the ninety minutes. The four periods. The race. The thing that happened live, and only that.
That is no longer enough. For an event to succeed now, it has to live across the whole day. The conversation cannot close when the final whistle blows.
And to do that, we have to admit something uncomfortable. It is not only about the main camera anymore. It is not only about the famous commentator or the star on the pitch. It is also about the person capturing content on a phone. The YouTuber. The TikToker. Someone doing something completely different from what we were trained to do, landing the same impact, sometimes more, than a beautifully cut highlights package or a game covered the traditional way.
We can keep an open mind, or we can become the archive. Nice memories of how the industry used to work. It has already changed, and it is going to change a lot more.
2. One day at a time
It does not matter how big the project is. You take it one day at a time. For your mental health, and for the work itself.
You can plan for months. For years. But the day in front of you is the one that counts. Part of the team has to keep an eye on what is coming next. Everyone else has to treat the execution of today as the only priority.
If you are a camera operator, be on the game you are shooting right now. If you are an audio engineer, be on the sound happening right now. Not on what comes next. Right now.
3. Pay attention to people, especially on the small things
We underestimate small details. Especially when they come from people we have quietly decided are not that important to the big picture.
Then those small problems become big problems. Fast. And by the time they are big, they are expensive.
You do not have to say yes to everything. But you have to pay attention. Not only to your inner circle, but to the person at the edge of it who raises a point. That point might be the thing that changes the outcome of what you are building.
4. Learn the personalities around you
When you work with a team on something that matters, a one-off or a long haul, take the time to understand how the people around you are wired. You will work better with every one of them.
A simple example. Maybe you process fast. You do not need every detail, you do not need to sit with it. Some people around you do. They need you to stop, explain, and go deeper. Others need better documentation than you are used to giving. Others need more time to talk it through before they move.
This is not a manager’s job. It is everyone’s job. Ours is a team business before it is anything else. So do not judge. Understand, and put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
5. Understand where people are, not just how they work
This one sits close to the last, but it goes further. You have to recognize the state of mind someone is in while they deliver the project with you.
What is simple for you, because you have done it a hundred times, can be hard for someone else. And that can affect their performance, their part of the project, sometimes the whole thing.
Some people are not used to being away from home for months. It wears them down. Left unspoken, it can pull them somewhere dark, and that shows up in the work long before anyone says a word. Some people simply need more rest than you do.
Learn to see when someone is close to their limit. Ideally before they reach it. Then you can help, and they never have to get to that point.
This is not softness. It is understanding people, how they work and where they are, so you can help, or at least make the situation lighter.
After two months, I walk away with a reinforced belief: there is nothing more important than people in our work. Even with the best technology in the world, you have to understand and value the people around you before anything else.
Thank you for your support. Thank you for the kind messages. Thank you for your observations. It has meant more than you know to feel you with me through these weeks. Keep them coming, I read every one.
Now, to finish the job.