Dreamgistics

As we celebrate 15 years at Sixthman today, we are so grateful for the guests who have trusted us with their vacations, the artists who have trusted us with their fans, and our team who has trusted us with their gifts during this precious time of their lives. When Sixthman started in 2001, we thought we were in the "Festival Business." Then we thought we were in the “Vacation Business” in 2003. We were happy to learn that we were connecting people and were actually in the “Community Business" in 2005. Being blessed with so many return guests each year, we push ourselves to make each event better.  

We often joke that when it comes to our festivals and communities, we make promises we can barely keep. One of the toughest dynamics for us to tame is the relationship between the Promise Maker and the Promise Keeper. They both need each other to be successful. One to make a promise and the other to make it happen. Without the Promise Makers, it’s hard to stand out above the rest, and without the Promise Keepers, it’s a complete mess.  

Even though we understand it’s part of who we are, there is sometimes tension when a promise is made without including a Promise Keeper. As a Promise Maker myself, sometimes I fear including the Keeper because I’m afraid they will talk me out of it (usually for good reason). The challenge is that we all care about each other like family, and reckless promises damage those relationships and our culture. We almost always pull it off and then promise to never do that again. Does it have to be this way?

At our company retreat (known as The Advance) last week, a couple of our senior team members presented some challenges for us to solve within the next year. The last two words they used were “Dreams” & “Logistics” and it hit me. When we do our best work, we are becoming experts in Dreamgistics. The difference is that the Promise Makers, now referred to as Dreamers, bring their ideas to the Promise Keepers, now referred to as Logistic Specialists, who welcome the Dreamers in a supportive and respectable way (think “Trust Tree” from Old School) to determine a solution that allows us to push the expectations higher without too much wear and tear on those who lead the execution.

We started saying Dreamgistics last week and I hope it sticks because it can remind us that we are evolving in the way we work together. Thank you to all of those who have allowed us to perform Dreamgistics on you.

Andy