Ed Slapik's speech reflection - Essay Example

REFLECTIVE PAPER ON THE SPEECH BY ED SLAPIK Mr. Ed Slapik is an independent event manager who has currently been tasked with the organization of Boston Marathon and other major events throughout the United States. He started off as a sound engineer in events after his graduation and later progressed to managing major events. He has organized several big events that have earned him fame and popularity. He admits that he did not know that he will rise to that high level in the field of events when he was in school.

He started from the bottom as he continued to gain confidence of other people. He started off with a very small team of two people but has developed to incorporate close to two hundred people. His success is based on building close relationships with his clients whom from time to time, have recommended him to other people. He argues that his most challenging events form part of his favorite events. Each event has its own unique challenges hence he handles each event differently. The most important thing to be successful in the industry is based on the understanding that every person one meets may become a future client hence the need to build long-term close relationships with them.

Event planning is closer to marketing as indicated by Ed who has been called upon by companies such as Pepsi to organize their marketing events. Working with college students is a very interesting experience for Mr. Ed Slapik as he considers such event to be very dynamic and fun. His business mainly rotates around the country and he has never done any event outside the country. New ideas for events arises from the creativity of the team members after which they have to budget for the events which forms one of the major challenges in the industry.

Key factors to be considered in the industry include security issues, goals and objectives of each activity. The size of the team to be incorporated in each event largely depend on the type of an event as well as the expectations of the clients. The bombings in the last Boston Marathon greatly affected how events are managed afterwards due to the security concerns. There is a lot of security checks by the regular police and the F.B.I leading to some rules being placed for the event organizers.

The city of Boston is in a better position to host the Olympic Games should they be granted the opportunity in relation to organization of the event. Mr. Ed considers most of his events as large scale and they take place all around the year. He considers the Olympics as his dream event. An event organizer has his week fully parked with activities and events which can be so tiresome hence the need to dedicate a day to rest and reflect on the past events. Building a strong team is of great importance towards success in the field of event organization.

One of the key consideration when choosing people to work with is their communication skills as that serves to create a good relationship with the clients. Other factors can be learnt over time but communication with clients is very basic. Networking is one of the things that can lead to success in the industry. Students should consider taking part in major events as interns as that will serve as a networking tool which will push them to greater heights in the field of events. Students should consider volunteering in major events so that they can gain firsthand experience.