Cambridge Business Association
What to Do When Things Go Wrong
Video

What to Do When Things Go Wrong

Boomer Esiason, Frank Supovitz, Adam Wald and Mike Abrams
Talks at Google, 2019
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Frank Supovitz, award-winning event producer, Adam Wald, NBC’s director of production, operations and management, and Julius “Boomer” Esiason, former NFL quarterback and famed sportscaster, can’t hide when they make mistakes. They work in public in tough arenas, like the Super Bowl. In their Talks at Google video with host Mike Abrams, they share lessons from memorable mishaps, offering useful examples of how to regain control when a situation suddenly goes wrong and how to keep mistakes from recurring. Supovitz emphasizes five steps from his book, What to Do When Things Go Wrong: imagine, prepare, execute, respond and evaluate. 

Summary

To avoid or recover from crises when you run big enterprises or events, follow five strategic steps: imagine, prepare, execute, respond and evaluate. 

In his new book, What to Do When Things Go Wrong, producer Frank Supovitz, outlines five steps for avoiding or recovering from a crisis when you’re leading a project or a team, or staging an event: imagine, prepare, execute, respond and evaluate. 

Take the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan, an extravaganza run by panelist Adam Wald, director of production, operations and management at NBC Universal and NBC News. The parade, which requires imagination and visualization beforehand and during the event, also requires enormous preparation. It features numerous elements: massive airborne balloons, marching bands, floats and famous entertainers.

Many components can go wrong. And when they do, Wald has to pivot quickly. Strategically, he treats each big event like a chess match: planning every maneuver tactically. This positions...

About the Speakers

Talks at Google host Mike Abrams interviewed Frank Supovitz, CEO of Fast Traffic Events & Entertainment and author of What to Do When Things Go Wrong, sportscaster Julius “Boomer” Esiason, a former NFL quarterback, and Adam Wald, director of production, operations and management at NBC Universal and NBC News.

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