That was one amazing Kid Rock adventure and all of us at Sixthman are blown away by the family that has formed over the past three years.  As the CEO of Sixthman, I have had the privilege to get to know Bob over the years. For those of you that don’t know, we met with Bob for the first time on June 28, 2009 right before he took the stage in Atlanta during his tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd. We were a little nervous at first but he made us feel right at home. We introduced ourselves, told him a little about what we had been up to at Sixthman, and asked him if we could earn the opportunity to bring his vision of a music festival at sea to life for his fans. We pitched Redneck Yacht Club for a name and he immediately said, “we’ve got to call it Chillin’ the Most.”

He went on to share his vision that he wanted the cruise to be a place where he could be himself and just hang with his best fans. A place where he wouldn’t be spending the entire time taking photos and signing autographs. He imagined this place to be the most chill, and because of that he wanted to extend an offer to have his photo with guests when they walked on the ship and give it to them for free. His vision was to meet everyone and to rock the lido deck with them as the ship sailed away. His goal was to give everybody something before they went to bed the very first night in the hopes that everybody would understand the vibe he was trying to create. We were impressed that he was willing to make that commitment and gladly accepted his challenge.

Since then he has more than delivered on his promise to throw the best party on the ocean, and we have been honored to be a part of it.

Here’s a little something we learned this year. Some of you saw me being very firm about asking for an additional photo and/or an autograph, and it’s important for you to know that we are only trying to help Bob achieve his goal. We understand how hard it is to resist the urge to take advantage of a big chance to get something like that from Bob. However, I think we owe it to him to show him the respect that he is giving to us.

I witnessed two examples that stand out to me from this year that I want to share.  One is the wrong way to do it and one is the right way to do it.

The first story is about a young lady who caught Bob as he was leaving the deck Sunday night after sharing the “Redneck Paradise” video (which he had his team bust their ass to edit in time for us all to see). She pushed her way through the crowd and demanded a picture. Then after Bob hesitantly agreed to do it, she had the nerve to ask him to wait until she could see the picture to make sure it was a good one. She wasn’t happy with the first picture so she demanded he stay for a second one. Believe it or not, she wasn’t happy with the second picture and asked for a third. I finally stepped in front of her and let her know that she must stop. I felt horrible for Bob because I know how proud he was to make everyone a part of that video and this guest was very disrespectful.

The second story happened on Friday at the beach. Bob was walking onto a tender boat and I was in front of him. A male guest was with his wife and another couple and he went to grab his camera. I politely asked the man to put the camera away and resist asking for a photo. He did not put up a fight and I thanked him for it. A few seconds later Bob walked up and asked if he can sit next to the man. They sat and talked the entire way back to the ship.

Artists live to give and share. They just like to do it on their terms. Almost every time we respect them, they acknowledge it by giving something back. We blogged about this effect called “The Take” after the KISS KRUISE last year. Please check it out if you can.

We realize it’s very hard no to seize the moment. We only ask that as a family, we work together to make our four days a year together a pure place to demonstrate respect for each other and our hero.

If it makes you feel better, the entire Sixthman team walks the walk with you. Our team has never asked for a photo or an autograph with any artist. We want the artist to see us coming and know that we are coming to give, not take. This includes me, and I think it’s one of the reasons Bob and I have the friendship we have.

Thank you for giving us the best job in the world and thank you for showing Bob that we were coming as guests to his party. This is the most amazing, big, dysfunctional family anyone could ever ask for.

We are excited to announce a strategic partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line.  Partnerships take all types of forms so for those of you curious about what it means, I wanted to share some insights here.

What does this mean?
It means that Norwegian Cruise Line and Sixthman will be working together to identify opportunities to innovate entertainment and the guest experience.  That will likely manifest itself in the form of strategy sessions to incorporate the elements that work well for our current cruises across the Norwegian fleet.

How did it come about?
Norwegian Cruise Line is committed to being the leader of entertainment in the cruise industry and as they were looking at the future, they wanted a partner to help them build a strategy.  While conducting their research of the entertainment industry, they had conversations with agents & artist managers who directed them to Sixthman.  After months of discussions, we determined that we were aligned with the leadership and vision for what the guest experience around entertainment should be while on a cruise.

Will all your cruises be on Norwegian from now on?
While we believe that Norwegian Cruise Line will be a great partner to host our events, we are free to offer our partners and communities the best ship, dates, rates etc that fit their needs.  We will continue to let the overall guest experience dictate which cruise line we use for their vacation.

Who will answer the phone?
Sixthman is staying exactly the same as it is now.  It’s the same name, the same people in the same office making the same crazy videos and delivering guest experience in our own unique way.  You will use the same booking engine and call the same numbers when you want to join us for a cruise or have questions.  We will be answering the emails, high fiving you when you walk onboard and bye-fiving you as we all go back home.

As a member of The Rock Boat, Simple Man Cruise, Cayamo, Kid Rock, KISS, 311, TCM community, what will be different?
This partnership has been structured in a way that preserves every element of how we currently lead these communities.  For the cruises that take place on a Norwegian Cruise Ship, you should expect to see more customization in your vacation and concert experience due to the fact that we are going to be working closer with them to make the ship and staff work better for our cruises. 

What kind of growth will this mean for Sixthman?
Our experience has shown us that this is an organic growth type of business where you are patient to find the right opportunity rather than forcing it.  To that point, we hosted 10 cruises last year and are only planning to do 8 this year.

Does this mean that Sixthman will finally get their own ship and we can all live together at sea forever with our favorite bands?
Maybe…..

What’s next?
We are focused on our guests who are sailing with us this year and the guests who are looking forward to sailing with us next year.  Over the next few months, we will set out a course with our new partner and we are excited to share the details once we have them.
We have been blessed with the opportunity to help amazing artists and partners celebrate the people who celebrate them the most.  We are 30 people committed to creating moments for our guests, our partners and one another.
I’d like to leave you with this final insight into who we are and what drives us.  It is the “Why” that directs what we do.

What is our “Why?”
We are here to create moments.  We create moments for our guests, our artists, our partners and for each other.

We do this by setting the stage where moments have the best chance of happening.…on the phone…via email…on a ship…on a beach…in the office…and on an actual stage.

The moments become stories that are shared over and over again by those who experience them.

The stories change people’s expectations…for what a vacation should be like…the kind of relationship they can have with their heroes…the level of service they should expect when they trust a company with their time and money…and the way it should feel when you go to work.

We are born to create moments and that will be at the heart of everything Sixthman ever does.

We believe this partnership will allow us to do more of our “Why”.  Thank you for caring enough to read and feel free to email me if you have other questions or thoughts to share.  andylevine@sixthman.net

Live Loud,

Andy

In our business, we are fortunate to spend lots of time with both artists & guests.  We have been pleasantly surprised to see 95% of our guests take more pride in showing respect for the artists while they are on vacation than ambushing them for photos and autographs.  I witnessed something this past weekend on our 1st Annual KISS KRUISE that brought it all together for me.  I call it “The Take”.

Gene Simmons from KISS and Shannon Tweed (his wife) were preparing to leave the ship and a family had stationed themselves near the elevators hoping to get one last photo.  I happened to be there to witness this and before the elevator made it down to the lower decks, I introduced myself and asked the family to consider a different approach.

I explained to them that artists like to give themselves to their fans on the artists’s terms and it’s important to respect their space so they don’t feel like their autograph or photo is being taken from them.  Then I requested that the family put the camera and sharpie away and simply wave goodbye & say thank you when the elevator doors opened.  The dad was not buying it at first claiming he really wanted a photo for his kids but I begged him to trust me.

A few seconds later, the elevator door opened and Gene & Shannon exited and approached the ship’s gangway. At that moment, the mom, dad, son and daughter all waved goodbye and thanked Gene & Shannon for sharing their vacation with the fans.  It was perfect.  I was so proud of them for trusting me.

The best part is that after Gene & Shannon had passed by and right before they took their last step off the ship, Shannon turned around and motioned for the kids to come to her asking them if they wanted a picture.  The dad looked over at me and smiled, pulled out his camera and captured a great moment.

The next day I saw the family walking around the ship and the dad came up to me to say thanks for sharing that insight and he promised to spread the word.

It has to be so hard to be in a space with your hero and fight the urge to take something for yourself to remember the moment and prove that you were there for your friends.  For most of us, it might be a once in a lifetime moment, however, please know that the artist is usually aware of what you are thinking.  If we respect their space and give it a second, they will almost always acknowledge the respect you have shown them in a genuine & memorable way.

When we don’t exercise the moment of patience around our heros, we are “Taking” something that they would much rather give.

Andy

Check out the latest episode of Sixthman.TV:  Outsourcing HR

Outsourcing HR from Sixthman TV on Vimeo.

Happy hump day everyone!

-Mike

A few years ago when we were presented with the opportunity to take on more cruises, I noticed some hesitation from a few of the Sixthman team.

I sensed uncertainty and as a leader, I believe the best thing you can do is sniff it out and figure out a way to make it certain one way or the other.

When I asked one particular person what she was afraid of, she said, “I just want it to stay special.”  As I dug in with other people, that seemed to be the biggest concern.

So we got a small group of us together to talk about what “Special” means.

The conversation was about vacations and parties we had attended in our lives, and cool elements we observed that made the event memorable.  In less than an hour we identified seven checkpoints that must be present for us to be able to deliver Special on a larger scale.  As long as we could do well in these areas, we could grow as much as we wanted.

So here they are…

Invite
We want you to feel genuinely invited.  Until we can get the artist to knock on your door and say “I’m throwing a party on a boat, would you like to go?” we intend to find creative, tangible ways to connect with you and invite you authentically.  E-mail alone is not acceptable.

Inform
There are lots of questions to be answered when it comes to planning a vacation, especially one as unique as ours.  Our goal is to provide you with all the information you need at your fingertips.  What to wear? When to arrive? What documentation to bring? What’s included? Do I have to be able to swim? How to behave if you end up in an elevator with your favorite artist? Along the way we want the “Cruise to Start Now” by engaging you online and offline to introduce you to artists, other guests and our staff.

Excite
Life goes on after you book your vacation and sometimes there are months between the time you reserve your cabin and when we actually pull away from the dock.  About 45 days prior to sailing, we want to remind you that life is about to get better and it’s time to focus on what lies ahead.  Ideally an item arrives in your mailbox or inbox (or both), but it says it’s time to put your shades on because the future is about to get bright!

Welcome
As soon as you walk on the ship, we make sure that Sixthman is there to greet you with a smile and a high five so you know we have been expecting you, and are so glad you could make it.

Looked After
Our goal on board is to be everywhere you turn. If you need a guide, we’ll be there. If you’re lost, confused or frustrated, our team is committed to getting you back on track.  Maybe you need help making a memorable proposal to your future wife or wonder why artists prefer to not have flash photography while they are performing or need us to make something right because we didn’t deliver what we promised. We’re always looking for ways to take care of you.

Amazed
Everyone has his or her own perfect moment on board and we‘re here to set the stage so it can happen.  It might be under the stars at night watching a show, or enjoying an afternoon concert by the pool while enjoying a cold beverage with your feet dangling in the water.  Whatever it is, we want you to have that moment where you say to yourself “I am where I need to be, with who I need to be with, doing what I need to be doing”.

Appreciated
At the end of the cruise, we are flattered that you trusted us with your vacation and are grateful that you chose to spend your time and money with us. As you walk off the ship, we believe it’s important for you to know that!  Maybe it’s a “Bye Five” or a voicemail from an artist that evening or something in the mail the next week that simply says “We appreciate you being with us”.

So here is what we are shooting for…hold us to it!

-Andy

You may remember that last year we started a new thing here at Sixthman called freestyle officing.  So far, it’s worked great!  You can come in, sit where ever you’d like, and never get bored with the same desk every. single. day.  Well, sometimes finding the best place to sit is tough and that got us thinking…

We cruise all year long, and on each cruise ship there’s a Maitre D’.  They help the guests find their seats and make sure that everyone is looked after.  So, the question we asked ourselves was, “Why not give it a shot?  It works on board, right?”

Please welcome our newest member – the Sixthman Maitre D’.

I went to see the Avett Brothers recently and after the show as my wife and I were walking back to our car, there was a stack of Avett Brothers posters sitting there as a gift for the fans to take home.  I thought that was so cool.  It was like a personal message from the band that I interpreted as “We appreciate you being here”.

We bought a ticket, they put on a great show, we gave them our time, they gave us a gift and were the “Last One to Give”.

The next time I think about the Avett Brothers, I will think about how I appreciate them appreciating me and giving me a poster that probably cost them $.25 but had much more value to me.

We have seven “Moments” that we want each guest to experience from the time they hear about one of our events to the time they return home from what was hopefully the best vacation of their lives.  The last one is “Appreciate” that’s exactly what the Avett Brothers did that night with me.

I think great people and great organizations find opportunities to show appreciation by being the “Last One to Give”.

Andy

If you can stand a flashback to high school music theory class for a while, I want you to try something next time you walk by a piano. Strike the white key immediately to the left of any pair of black keys using your right thumb (see the key labeled C on the left).

Then use your middle finger to strike the white key immediately to  the right of the pair of black keys (see key labeled E above).  Now use your right ring finger to strike the white key on the inside left of the three black keys (see key labeled G above).  Each one of the keys are individual “Notes”.

Now strike all three of them at the same time.  Congratulations, you just played a“C – Chord” on the piano.  To appreciate what you just did, randomly strike any other three keys at the same time.

Hear the difference? Unless you accidentally made another chord or are tone deaf, it should have made you cringe a little bit because it sounded so bad. That’s the beauty of a “chord”. It only sounds good once it’s complemented by two “notes” that work well with it. This principle doesn’t only apply to music.
Each of us individually has gifts and strengths that resemble those of a unique ”Note” but no matter how good you are, you can only achieve so much on your own. Building partnerships with people who have different skills, passions, and work styles to create a “Chord” is critical to achieving success in business and life.  Just as great songs are made of a combination of the right ”Chords”, great organizations are made up of authentic and meaningful collaboration.

So don’t miss the chance to be a part of something great by working selfishly, and attributing all outcomes to your “note” or “gift”. Instead, build strong harmony with people who complement what you bring to the table.  Reach out to the right combination of “notes” and what you will create will be music to everyone’s ears.

-Andy

PS-If someone ever asks you if you play piano, you can now say ”a little”.

So you know when people type about something so insanely amazing, the only way to get the point across and make it sound like you mean it is to type. like. this.? Well, in order to get the true vibe of TRB XI across, this entire blog post would have to be written just. like. that.

But I’ll spare you, because that would just be hard to read.

So much fun has been had, and so many amazing moments have happened – I don’t even know where to start. For me, this is the first Rock Boat I’ve ever worked. However, I’ve been in attendance since 2004. It’s a bit of a different experience on the flip side of a cruise – but I have to admit I’m having just as much fun working as I did when I was a guest!

This is actually my favorite lineup TRB has ever hadIt would be hard to go through all of the great moments that we’ve experienced, but here are just a few of my favorites so far:

• Watching Andy try to convince all of our guests that it was a great idea for him to apply sunscreen to their noses as they boarded. Some embraced it, others ran in fear. But everyone was in good spirits!

• Sister Hazel Sail Away Party – the time was finally here for us to decide where we were actually GOING on this cruise! At this point, we had 2 ports on hold – both of which were great possibilities:  Costa Maya or the Bahamas. After checking the weather reports one last time, Costa Maya won by a landslide. After the announcement, Sister Hazel broke into their first set of the boat. They kicked off the cruise perfectly by singing “Sail Away” and then continued on to do a rockin’ show complete with a limbo contest.

• Back Rub Blingo – when we asked Gaelic Storm to host Bingo one day, we had no idea what we were in for! They decided they didn’t just want Bingo – they wanted Back Rub Blingo! Never heard of it? Yeah, we hadn’t either, but it’s exactly what it sounds like. Gaelic Storm + the Carnival Spa massage team + lots of Bling + Bingo. If that’s not an equation for randomness, I don’t know what is.

Gaelic Storm's Back Rub Blingo

• Artist vs. Artist “60 Seconds To Win It” – to watch some of your favorite artists compete in 9 mindless mini-games was unforgettable. Kudos to Matt Hires, Matt Duke and our own Andy Levine for participating and giving us some great Rock Boat moments. (Ask Matt Duke about the “How’s it Hanging” challenge with the banana. You’ll get a good story.) And congrats to Matt Hires for bringing home the coveted Golden Ping Pong Ball Banana Trophy.

Artist vs. Artist 60 Seconds To Win It

• Costa Maya. Was. Perfect. (Seriously – best Rock Boat port stop ever. Perfect weather, perfect location – just 100% all-around amazing.

• NEEDTOBREATHE in the Paris Lounge – Just wow. Though the entire show was amazing, the end of it was the part everyone will remember. The entire band unplugged, came out to the front of the stage near the steps and sang “Valley of Tomorrow.” The crowd who had just been rocking out like crazy just moments before was dead silent – you could seriously hear a pin drop. I even saw the security guards turning around to sneak a peek at what was happening. The power in their voices was just incredible and gave me chills. They plugged back in and finished out the night with “The Outsiders” – absolutely perfect.

• Guilty Pleasures with the Goose – Goose just couldn’t stay away this year – and we’re glad he didn’t! This show was the ultimate artist collaboration set – he had chosen people from almost every single band onboard to come out and sing some guilty pleasures – we heard everything from Backstreet Boys to Bryan Adams, and it was all topped off with EVERYONE on stage singing Faithfully by Journey. These are the things Rock Boat memories are made of.

• Halloween Night – ALL of it! Everything about Halloween night was absolutely incredible. It was one of the biggest and best theme nights we’ve ever done, and we had a TON of participation. Sister Hazel zombied it up for their Monsters of Rock set which was extraordinary in itself, but THEN it was all topped off by Jett leading his band of zombies (a.k.a. the Sixthman staff) to flash-mob the crowd with the Thriller dance (definitely my personal favorite moment so far!). At the end of the night Gaelic Storm played to an Atrium full of costumed guests – including the Monopoly Man, some penguins, a Jamaican bobsled team, a cow, some sheep, and who knows what else. If you’ve ever been to an Atrium show before on any of our cruises, just imagine that, but with crazy costumes. Insane. The show ended with the entire band standing on the bar for their last song, instruments and all. Again, insane. And that wasn’t even the end of the night! Trailer Park Ninjas continued the party well into the morning on the Promenade deck. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that stage so packed.

Thriller Flash Mob

Alright, I’ll stop now. Though I could honestly type forever about other things that have been just as awesome as the few I’ve listed above. We’ve got one more full night of music out on the open sea – let’s rock this boat all the way back to Tampa!

~jen

It’s a Saturday morning and you’ve made your list of things to do for the day and as you are walking thru the living room on your way to get your keys and head out, you notice that the movie “Shawshank Redemption” is on TV.  It’s your favorite part of the movie so you sit down to watch just that one scene.  Next thing you know, you’ve watched the entire ending and since you jumped in late and it’s playing all day as part of a TBS movie marathon, you begin to watch the first part of the next showing. Now you’ve spent 3 hours (that’s how long it takes to show a 2 hour movie on TBS) watching TV and your list of things to do has not changed.

You know what we call that?  “Getting Shawshanked”.

There are a ton of movies that will do it to you and it happens every day in other parts of our lives too.

We crave certainty and pursue it tirelessly even though most of the brightest parts of our lives and our best stories were created when there was zero certainty present.

How I met my wife?  How I ended up finding my best friend?  How I ended up in this career?  How I learned by biggest lesson that defined my outlook on life?

We get “Shawshanked” when…

We go to our favorite restaurant and tell ourselves we are going to try something new but at the last minute we cave and order the same thing we always get.

We go to a party and promise ourselves we are going to meet some new people but we end up hanging with the same small group having the same conversation we always have.

We we wake up knowing the three biggest things we can do to make an impact today yet we stare at our inbox all day letting that dictate our priorities.

We end each concert with the same song because we know it works instead of having the courage to try something new.

Our only options are to either retell old stories or make new ones.  And to make new ones that are worth re-telling, we have to try different things.  I mean after all, as comforting as it is to relive old stories, it’s kind of depressing to think that we might not be a part of any more great ones.

Let’s make some more glory days.  That’s what keeps us alive.

Last night, a friend of mine asked me to help her put herself into a new environment that was way outside her comfort zone and it meant traveling somewhere to do it.  I’m excited to help with this because I know once she gets on the plane, she will have no choice but to accept the fact that the only certainty in her life is that there is no certainty.  There will not be anything to fall back on, unless of course “Shawshank Redemption” comes on the TV in her hotel room.