Why This Show Exists

In this first episode, Mark Bowling introduces the MAD Events Podcast — who it's for, why it exists, and what the next 20+ years in live events might look like. If you've ever wondered whether the industry you've built a career in is about to change faster than you can keep up, this one's for you.

Topics covered:

• Why now — what's shifting in the events industry

• Who this show is really for

• What you can expect from every episode going forward

Connect with Mark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blacksheepshepherd/

BlackSheep Productions: https://www.blacksheepproductions.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the first episode of the Mad Events Podcast, the podcast specifically designed and created to make a difference for the live event industry. My name is Mark Bowling and I love the live event industry. I've been blessed to be a part of the team at Black Sheep Productions for over 20 years. This industry has allowed me to live out my personal purpose statement, to glorify God by using my talents and resources to make a difference in the lives of others, to help them reach their greatest potential personally and professionally. That lines up well with our corporate mission, to make a difference for our clients and their key stakeholders, our black sheep family, the live event industry, and the communities that we serve. As we say, profits are important, but they are not the reason that we're in business. We are truly in the business to make a difference and to leave a positive wake. And that's why the Mad Events Podcast exists. Some might ask why now? Our world and our industry are changing faster than at any point in my career. And I've been around long enough to have watched this industry go through some real disruptions, not just changes in technology, but the major headwinds we face going through things like the banking crisis and especially COVID. And right now, we're in the middle of something bigger than either one of those shifts. AI is changing everything. Not someday, right now, this year. The tools that exist today would have seemed like science fiction five years ago. And by the time you're listening to this, they will have advanced again. And here's what I keep running into. I couldn't find a place where I could have the conversations that I wanted to have, to hear the voices that can make a difference for all of us. Meaningful conversations, not full of hype, not hinting towards panic, but having real conversations from people who care about advancing the way that they do things and sharing that way with others. And that's the gap that I want to fill. That's why I'm here. So let me tell you what this show is going to look like. Some episodes will just be me, my take on something that I'm seeing in the industry, something that I'm working through, something that I think will be worth your time. Those will run shorter, fifteen, twenty minutes, in and out. Other episodes will I will bring in guests, people from within our industry and outside who have something worth sharing. Those conversations will go a little longer, and I'll try to keep them under thirty minutes. I'm going to tell you what I actually think, not what I think just sounds good. We may disagree on some topics, and I may be completely wrong on some of them. Please call me out when you think that's the case. My goal is to cover the full range of what makes this industry matter and how we can make a difference together. Yes, there will be a lot of AI content, especially early on. It's the biggest shift hitting our business right now, and I'd be doing you a disservice to dance around it. I'll also talk about tools that we're actually using at Black Sheet Productions. I'll talk about some of the mistakes that I've made, and I'll be honest about what I'm still figuring out. I noticed the question being asked across every industry right now, spoken or unspoken, will AI help replace the job that I'm doing today? Here's my honest take, yes, eventually, but I truly believe that the job won't simply be replaced by a machine. It will either be replaced by a more powerful version of ourselves using these tools to make us more efficient and effective, or it will be we'll be replaced by someone else who's learned how to leverage them faster. That's not a threat, it's an invitation. And it's a conversation we'll come back to again and again on this show. But I want to be clear, this is not an AI show. AI as a lens, not a subject. We'll get into sustainability, talent, crew culture, client relationships, the craft of production, all of it. Because those things don't stop mattering just because the tools are changing. If anything, they matter more. Here's what not to expect. First, don't expect a sales pitch. This show exists to serve the industry, not to sell you something. I'll be straight with you when I think that something that we built at Black Sheep Productions is worth your attention, but that'll always be secondary to the conversation that we're having. If you show up for the content, we'll earn the right to tell you about the tools as they develop. Second, don't expect hype. I'm not interested in telling you that AI is going to save your business or destroy it. The truth is much more complicated and much more interesting than either of those headlines. And finally, don't expect production perfection. I want this to be a real conversation, not a produced performance. I've already made a lot of mistakes in this podcast. Some I've tried to take out, some that I've left in. I'd rather say something that I truly believe to be true imperfectly than something polished that actually doesn't make a difference. Have you ever been part of a show that wasn't perfect? And I'm not talking about the kind of imperfection that a seasoned team makes disappear before anyone notices. I mean the kind where everyone in the room knows that something went wrong. About ten years ago, we were producing an event for a client that we'd worked with for nearly eight years. Over 2,000 attendees, and the president of the company was on stage at the most important moment of a keynote, and he called for a video that we had produced to play. Nothing happened. The primary playback machine crashed, our show caller called for the backup. It locked up at the exact same moment. The executive recognized it from the stage and kept going. He finished his presentation without missing a beat. I had about 20 minutes left in that show to think about what I was going to say to him afterwards. I rehearsed it in my mind. I'm so sorry, it's my fault. I didn't have the team put into place to be successful. I walked up to him and started with, I'm so sorry, and he cut me off. Mark, he said, your team did an amazing job getting us ready for this event, and everything else has been just great. I trust that you won't let it happen again. And it didn't. That's the kind of relationship that I want to build here. Not the kind where everything goes perfectly, but where but the kind where when it doesn't, you trust that I'm going to own it and try to make it right. That's the standard that we hold ourselves to at Black Sheet Productions. And I think it's the standard that most people, at least the and the best people in our industry, hold themselves to, whether they work for a company of two or two hundred, and that's what this show is going to try to honor. Over the next several weeks, we're going to dig into AI and what it actually means for your day-to-day operation. Not theoretically, but practically. We have some guests lined up that I'm genuinely excited about. People who are doing interesting things and that are willing to talk about it honestly. And if you know someone who should be on the show, someone doing the work, thinking hard about the industry, and with something worth sharing, I want to talk to them. Please reach out. Thank you for being here for episode one. I don't take it lightly that you gave me a few minutes of your time, and I promise you I'm going to try to earn your trust going forward. If you got something out of today's episode, I'd love for you to subscribe wherever you listen. And if you're on Apple Podcasts, a quick review goes a long way towards helping other people in this industry find us. Share it with one person that you think needs to hear it. And if you have a guest in mind, someone doing interesting work, someone with a perspective this industry needs to hear, please reach out. I'd love to hear who you're thinking of. Until next time, make a difference.