Alex Goryachev has led change initiatives at some of the largest companies in the United States from IBM to Cisco to Pfizer, but he learned his most valuable lesson in change management while working as a music promoter.
At the time, Goryachev’s job involved managing all of the pieces that go into making a concert happen each night, from admissions to light design to production. When each piece functions smoothly, “it touches your soul,” Goryachev said. And he wanted to be the one to facilitate that experience for concertgoers.
So, he went from crew to crew with a list of changes he thought would modernize the process and create a better experience for fans. And with each, he would get into lengthy arguments that left everyone involved angry. Eventually, an engineer and lighting designer he worked with took him aside and offered a piece of advice.