UBA038 - It’s a Wrap
The week that was UB Live 24
UB Live 24 wasn't just an event, for us it was a manifestation of Rosie Lee's spirit of experimentation, openness and our wonderful friends we have in and around our industry. As I reflect on the series of streamed conversations and in-person panel that marked this milestone, I’m reminded of the importance of pushing boundaries, taking risks and fostering dialogue.
Day 1
On Day 1, our celebration kicked off with 4 streamed conversations. Each was a deep dive into different facets of creativity, culture and collaboration. These eclectic discussions truly set the scene for the days to come.
UBC007 Richard Hoare - Rich is a good friend of mine and I was very happy that he said yes to joining us in UB Live 24. We talked a lot about the power of music from various angles, and a highlight for me was how he sees the zeitgeist of music - the unpredictability of taste and how a certain sound can be popular one minute and not the next without anyone having a clear understanding of why.
UBC008 Mick McConnell - Mick is a man who has such a wealth of knowledge and understanding of our industry, and is so astute about what the future holds. I loved this conversation because of Mick’s openness and humility, and his reflections on his own career and choices.
UBC009 Dean Evans - Having not spoken with Dean for some time, I was really looking forward to this one and he didn’t disappoint. Dean’s experience, observations and reflections from the video games industry are so relatable. We talked about the nature of work in smaller and larger companies, and how leaders critically need to understand the impact they have on other people’s lives and take serious steps to ensure true wellbeing for everyone they lead.
UBC010 Mina Kitsos - Up until recently, I hadn’t known Mina very well, but she has a way of making conversation flow really easily. We talked about the importance of storytelling, how personal collaborations can be for artists and how male-dominated the sneaker industry has been. The idea for a Brand Tinder app will stay with me for some time too…
After the conversations on Day 1, it felt like it was really coming together. All of those worries about whether we had planned enough, done enough testing or simply whether the whole idea was right or not just went away.
Day 2
Day 2 kicked off with a conversation with Mark Gurney (displayed as Mark Gurneu for anyone who tuned into the live stream) and ended with an evening discussion in London around Humanity in HR.
UBC011 Mark Gurney - Mark is impressive in his approach to his career, which now sees him running restaurants. His commitment to service, creativity and to the people who work with him is commendable and we covered all of these on the call. We reminisced on the amazing community spirit that we found in Run Dem Crew and how special that time was for all of us, and how important fostering an attitude of openness can be to unlock connection and opportunity.
UBC012 Humanity in HR - Sadly I was unable to attend the panel discussion organised by Tom (our Operations Director). The night before UB Live 24 started for me, a flu swiftly descended on me and so a trip to London and back just didn’t seem wise. Having spoken with Tom and seen the reactions from others who attended, the event achieved everything it wanted to: A personal, open, interactive discussion about how the H in HR is the most important part of what we do when we lead organisations. Of course we have various strategies and objectives but the impact a job has on people’s lives can be profound if relationships are respected appropriately.
Aside from being racked with guilt for not attending the London event (sorry tom!), day 2 felt like we were really getting into our stride.
Day 3
As quickly as UB Live 24 begun it was reaching the end. At the start of Day 3 I really had that feeling that I would miss what we were doing last week, the format and work practice of it had become quite familiar quite quickly.
UBC013 James Nelson - I’ve worked with James for many years and have always enjoyed his work and his company. James cares deeply about his work and so talking with him in a public forum revealed some really insightful thoughts. We talked about the (hidden) economic significance of the creative industries, storytelling and the difficult transition from a design role to a leadership role that creative directors take. We also accidentally talked for a long time about cycling in Amsterdam and London.
UBC014 Derek Morrison - We didn’t hold back on this one and within about 3 minutes were exploring the essence of what creativity is to our industry. We talked about asymmetric information, embracing uncertainty, measuring cultural impact, balancing order and chaos and the limitations of reductive thinking, amongst many many other things…what didn’t we talk about! Lots of thought starters here to wander off into the woods with and think about.
UBC015 Lauren Lotka - Lauren has a very astute understanding of the nature of work in today’s environment - and our talk with her shows just how effortlessly across it she really is. We discussed the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work, and the struggle of constant connectivity. We discussed the need for human skills to be at the centre of our future personal development regardless of industry and how traditional recruitment practices can sometimes let companies down on this front.
UBC016 Tom Sebright-King - We decided to close this series of talks with a nice chat with Tom, our Operations Director, and reflect on the different conversations that have took place. It was a lovely way to round off the week, and if you’re unsure which talks to listen to first them this wouldn’t be a bad place to start as we talk about how we found each of the other talks.
Key Takeaways
Diverse perspectives are important - The series of conversations showcased a breadth of creative thinking, with conversationalists bringing unique insights from their respective fields.
Embracing change is critical - A recurring theme was the necessity of embracing change and uncertainty as catalysts for creative growth.
Fostering creativity is essential - The discussions highlighted innovative approaches to fostering creativity within organisations, from embracing remote work to creating spaces that inspire and engage.
Working can be a lot of fun - I’ve always believed that you don’t have to be serious to achieve serious outcomes. I think we laughed on every single conversation we recorded.
Summary
I am deeply grateful to all the conversationalists who made UB Live 24 happen. I think the thing I have been most impressed with is the trust people have displayed in our idea for this. We developed the event in a very agile way (we all have day jobs!), accepting the potential imperfections rather than increasing everyone’s stress and hours by overplanning and overperfecting.
I’ve been delighted by everyone’s insights, humility, enthusiasm and openness that have been expressed in the conversations and cannot wait to do more of these talks as we move forward.
In particular I’d like to thank Mark and Tom for trusting in the idea, rolling with it despite our other heavy workload and helping to arrange and manifest conversations with some of our favourite people we know.
All of the conversations will be edited and released via our Substack over the coming weeks, Or if you want to watch the unedited recordings of the live streams then check out the past events on our Rosie Lee Group company page on LinkedIn.
Thank you again to everyone who helped make this happen.
Written by Russell
