Best bartender companies for events know how to lead
In events, the ability to use both your intellect and your creativity makes it an exciting field! The greatest inspiration arises from being allowed to weave these two together to create something magical. Between the client’s vision, the planner’s creativity and every vendor’s efforts, the event becomes a collaborative work of art. The challenge remains that the nature of events makes them uncertain, chaotic and fluid environments. How event companies plan and execute events ultimately dictates their reputations. Their ability to plan well, coordinate effectively and be eminently qualified, remain the elements of the gold standard of service. For event staffing companies, it also requires knowledge of managing large, temporarily-assembled workforces. But beyond these qualities, what other advantages can all event companies wield that will help them to win consistently?
On Bartenders & The Event Staffing Field Manual
The Event Staffing Field Manual is dedicated to event professionals everywhere who seek the high mark of excellence for themselves and their companies. It seeks to illuminate reachable goals that any event company can employ to good effect. On Bartenders goes further in synthesizing universal truths from the prescriptive annals of military theory, and the history of warfare. The many parallels between combat and events represent opportunities for us to gain new insights into our own industry. Specifically, how do we survive and thrive in dynamic and unpredictable arena of events. Like war, events have the ability to destroy reputations and livelihoods in the blink of an eye. However, instead of succumbing to a fatalistic mindset, or becoming desensitized to caring, this publication seeks to preempt those outcomes. Ultimately, in seeking wisdom across disciplines, it hopes to foster success for the common good of all event companies.
Reputable bartending companies use combined arms
The nature of events may at times present us with dilemmas that seem like no-win situations. Bartender companies understand the difficulties of navigating client expectations, bartender egos and unexpected points of friction. However, regardless of challenging timelines, difficult personalities or unexpected issues, calamity and failure cannot be an option. Luckily, the friction that bartending services face can be managed through adaptability, decisiveness, and the use of combined arms. We use the concept of combined arms when we leverage all conditions and assets under our control to direct an event’s narrative. In doing so, we deny entropy the opportunity to dictate the outcome instead of us. Events require this kind of proactive mindset. Combined with the Rule of Momentum which mandates action over inaction, they together seek to take the offensive in winning consistently. While commanding US forces in 1941, General Patton had the following comments regarding combined arms:
“There is still a tendency in each separate unit to be a one-handed puncher. By that I mean that the rifleman wants to shoot, the tanker to charge, the artilleryman to fire. That is not the way to win battles. If the band played a piece first with the piccolo, then with the brass horn, then with the clarinet, and then with the trumpet, there would be a hell of a lot of noise but no music. To get harmony in music each instrument must support the others. To get harmony in battle, each weapon must support the other. Team play wins.” – George S. Patton
Bar staff for events and the concept of cover and move
“For the strength of the pack is the wolf,
and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”
– the Jungle Book
For event companies, possessing mutually-supporting management, leads and teams, tends to achieve the greatest possible results. Each of these groups complements and upholds the other, together creating an effective operating force. In this way, vulnerabilities are shored up, and reputations are protected. For example, bar captains coming across critical, front-line information can relay it up to managers. In this way, they act as the eyes and ears for company management. In return, managers troubleshoot issues, allowing their teams to quickly move past them. Whether making the decision to order more ice, or handling raucous and inebriated guests, ‘suits’can cover, while their teams move. Additionally, owners relaying expectations to leads, and trusting them to make situational decisions in their stead, represents another layer of cover and move. When we look at the most reputable bartender companies, this kind of support represents standard practice, and has become second nature to their leadership.
Leaders of bartenders for events must use boldness of action
Boldness of action provides another means to gain advantage over the institutional dysfunction that arises at events. Traditionally, boldness of action aims to create temporary positional advantages that help to keep pace with disruptions to our plans. From reallocating bar backs to bars under extended guest siege, to conscripting bartenders to table side wine service, leaders must possess boldness. They must possess a stubborn resistance to failure, and an unwavering determination to win. While stopping short of personifying chaos, it nevertheless remains a constant foe to dissipate and defeat. Therefore, the ability to decide quickly and then create decisive follow on steps underpins boldness of action. However, while boldness of action can be used to great affect, it does not substitute for proper planning and coordination between supporting vendors of an event.
The best bartender companies initiate planning with clients
In too many instances, preparations have not shared, plans are changed in situ, and other forces of friction degrade down our plans. In these situations, event staff are rushed across the divide, under impossible circumstances, to attempt to regain control. However, this enormous waste of time and resources just temporarily settles the matter, as much as it creates downstream problems elsewhere. These kind of events become contests of attrition, where casualties to the seamless guest experience erupt everywhere. We must avoid these kinds of mistakes, yet always be prepared to handle them through preparedness and contingency planning. For example, we may plan for multiple styles of dinner service to ensure certain client and timeline expectations can be met. Also, we may initiate additional planning with clients to iron out dedicated bar resupply routes, expected flow rates, and adequate spacing needs.
Leaders of bar staff must be prepared to modify their environment
The best event leads know that they must be ready to modify environments as they find them at events. From carving out busing stations from storage rooms, to moving tables to accommodate service teams, leads must re-imagine spaces for functionality. Requesting additional space, locating useful storage and co-opting help from facilities staff also exemplify ways to secure better spacial conditions. To act preemptively in discussing spatial needs increases the chances of receiving it. More importantly, we must understand how the effects of terrain, weather, darkness, and reduced visibility impact our tactical disposition. Whether torrential rain, restricted access, or lack of lighting, event environments will always remain problematic. Therefore the intelligent use of the event terrain remains a standard practice for successful leaders.
Bartenders for events must prepare for extreme conditions
In order to be resolute in winning despite circumstances, we must rigorously prepare to operate under any circumstances. Leads and teams must be willing to endure hot, cold or extreme environments. Whether using cell phones to light outdoor bars, or umbrellas to cover waiters from rain, teams must create adaptations. Teams that can operate despite inclement weather or cover of darkness, often gain significant advantages in doing so. Reduced visibility can make the simplest tasks overly difficult to accomplish. Therefore, a team that is properly equipped, and willing to operate in poor lighting conditions, will more readily succeed. Many times, two or more conditions such as darkness, wet and cold combine to acerbate the situation. Therefore, reputable bartender companies should create complementary logistics teams to support their field operations. Ops teams that can request delivery of provisions, lighting and warm clothing can more readily overcome obstacles in their path.
The best bartender agencies develop complementary forces
The use of complementary forces keeps teams from being unduly exposed to drastic conditions. Sun Tzu described complementary forces as the cheng and the chi. The cheng more describes conventional event staff and their normal operational actions. The chi is described as the unexpected or extraordinary action that seeks a decisive result. Either can be designated as the main effort at different times. However, when operating at the highest levels of leadership, they swirl back and forth, becoming an inseparable alloy. The concepts can be implemented in many combinations, limited only by our imagination.
Surprise, ambiguity and the ‘fog of war’ all serve to degrade operational performance. We may be misled as to correct timelines, operating conditions and food provisions for staff. Guest counts, entry points and resupply options could also be misinformation. However, with complimentary logistics teams, ops teams can overcome surprises, especially at the lower tactical level.
MCDP Tactics 1-3 page 46