On some occasions, our work requires us to be on-site with our clients for periods of time longer than just the event itself. From March through August 2016, Erica and I packed up and moved to the Microsoft campus in Redmond to plan the third annual global Hackathon. The Hackathon is only a two-day event, but the energy, passion, and expertise that is jam-packed into those two days is impressive, to say the least. The importance of such an event, as short as it is, would be difficult to fully understand had we not thrown ourselves into the culture on campus to work with those who understood its value and had nurtured it through its wildly successful initial years.
While Erica and I had previous experience working Microsoft events, this one was different. Being brought into the mix the third year an event takes place is interesting. How does a team keep the excitement of an event growing after the initial thrill of something new has passed? How could we turn an event that people were now familiar with into something bigger and better and worthy of their commitment?
The team we worked with at The Garage was a small and scrappy group of just 8 to 10 of us. The event is global, so think tens of thousands of participants. With a large-scale event and a small team, it wasn’t unheard of for us to turn our desktops into a resting place for our heads at 4am, if need be. The dedication to our audience was apparent. If you’d asked those registering for the event what kind of team was running the show, they’d likely have assumed far more people were involved. Our email inboxes proved this true time and time again, as they were flooded with questions and comments months ahead of the event.
For someone who is newer to the event world, the value in being on-site for six months was immeasurable. This was my first event as a full-time employee of RTP, and I consider myself lucky to have had the chance to dive head first into such a long-term project. I find that I thrive on getting to know those I work with, both professionally and personally. Some people love email, and others work best with face-to-face communication, talking things through to find a solution. Whether I was running downstairs to chat with the dev team in person over lunchtime or emailing deliverables or questions, I came to know what worked best for each person I interacted with. I don’t consider myself the most tech-savvy millennial, and those we worked with didn’t necessarily have event expertise, so all in all, our half year working together was a learning experience during which we relied heavily on each other.
When pitching our ideas to potential clients, we often mention that we value partnership. We like to become a part of our client’s team and have them become a part of ours. Working on the Hackathon was a prime example of this value in action. By the end of the event, we were giving each other high-fives, hugs, congratulations, and thank-you speeches because it truly was a team effort, and no one of us could have pulled it off alone.