Innovation and technology
How do you break the mould to create an industry-redefining step change, using the most cutting-edge technology of its time while staying organic enough to keep embracing the best in technological advancements?
The Experience
The evening is hosted by the senior people who built it.
Your leaders gain direct access to these top leaders, with candid insights into how ABBA Voyage became one of the most successful entertainment ventures of all time, from innovation to operational and service excellence. The experience includes a walk around the Arena, taking in back-of-house areas the general public never see, and rounds off with VIP hospitality: dinner, drinks, and tickets to the show.
The Story Behind the Concert
The ambition of the original vision was breathtaking, even by the standards of the theatre and music industries. How do you convince the stakeholders you need to back and prioritise a project that seemed, to many, an impossibility? How do you manage over 1,000 artists spread across the planet, and assemble the disparate team needed to guarantee success? Were there moments when it nearly didn’t happen?
With a significant budget , including the requirement to build a bespoke Arena, how do you ensure financial success? How do you price an experience that is unique and without benchmarks, launch it without visuals, and structure a one-of-a-kind business around it? And then the bigger question: do you ask the world to come to the concert, or do you take it to them, and can you?
Key themes your leaders will explore
Impact and sustainability
The show has become a cornerstone of London’s tourism economy, generating up to £2m a week and contributing over £2 billion to the UK economy in Gross Value Added since opening. How much does that impact matter, and to whom?
Customer obsession
How do you ensure a superlative experience for every fan, night after night, at every touchpoint, while moving 3,000 people per show, seven times a week? And what happens when things go wrong?
Creativity and commerce
How do you balance unfettered artistic freedom with commercial cost control and operational constraints, and still assure investors of a fair return?
Leadership learnings
How do you assemble a team with the right skills immediately post-Covid, keep an unrelenting focus on the customer, and sustain motivation and retention when every day in the Arena looks the same
Last week the Health Services Executive Team and I had the pleasure of visiting Alder Hey Children’s Hospital for a tour and a visit to their Innovation Hub, led by Dr Iain Hennessey and team. It was incredibly impressive and I really enjoyed spending time in another healthcare organisation, seeing and learning about how they are delivering excellence in innovation. The hospital puts patients and their families at the heart of every decision they make and actions they take, making the environment as welcoming as possible, including things like the smell and look of different areas to make the children feel comfortable. They also have no sirens when the ambulances arrive so not to distress any of the patients.
The day was organised by Wavelength in partnership with Alder Hey, Adrian Simpson from Wavelength helped facilitate a great session where we were able to share ideas around patient centricity and innovation and look for ways in which we can continue to develop the healthcare we deliver for our own patients and customers. Huge thank you to the hospital and Wavelength for an amazing day it has certainly inspired us!
I feel grateful, inspired and humbled by the incredible work of Alder Hey Innovation led by Iain Hennessey and his team. Their customer obsession, outside the box thinking and bravery in pushing the boundaries of technology to save the lives of children faster and better is refreshing and inspiring. Aldermore Bank shares a unique connection in the name, which symbolises strength, confidence and determination. I’m really proud to be part of this business and am filled with hope for how we can take and implement learnings from Alder Hey to create more value for our customers.
Alder Hey is one of the best development experiences that I’ve ever had. I would highly recommend this day for leaders and innovation teams who want a fresh perspective on the connection between purpose and innovation.
A completely uplifting and inspiring experience - a radical lesson in how to make innovation part of organisational culture.