Slides from my 10 minute presentation on lessons learned from running TEDxBerkeley

1. TEDxBerkeley
x = independently organized TED event
by Kai Chang

3. TEDxBerkeley
by the Numbers
• 750 Attendees (sold out)
• ~900 names/applicants on standby wait-list
• Total Streaming Views (via Justin.TV): 447,413
• Unique IP Views (via Justin.TV): 156,717
• Max Concurrent Viewers: 4,016
• Avg Viewing Time on justin.tv/tedxberkeley: 2.41 hrs

4. TEDxBerkeley
by the Tweets
pyknosis: Nothing left of that piano but a smoking heap of wood chips, bent
wire, and ivory dust after Eric Lewis finished playing. Dude rocks.
colinloretz: That was easily one of the best musical performances I’ve seen.
pyknosis: Eric Cheng just killed at #TEDxB. Really amazing photos, videos,
and message of ocean conservation.
jhnrdgers: Fred Dust from #IDEO is speaking about design, beyond products
it’s experience, it changes behavior when it’s good. awesome.
jf0ng: Tulley says heroic experiences in childhood lead to predisposition to
try amazing things. Awesome insight!
smovahhed: Jill Tarter of SETI explains SETI mission, saying we are made
from stardust and I got chills.
bkalex: Daniel Kraft’s #TEDxB talk was amazing! (via @KevinMinGong)
indeed it was.
cmccann7: love these octet guys, they are so excited about life!! — plus how
can you not love the wave?!?

5. T-Minus 31 Days to
TEDxBerkeley
• Management team headcount: one
• ~$3500 in debt
• two confirmed speakers (@15 minutes
apiece) to fill an eight-hour conference
• Zero sponsors
• Zero ticket sales

6. Four Things
• (Internal) Recruit quality people
• (External) Speaker Recruitment
• (External) Proactively engage with the
public/sponsors
• (Internal) Build in buffers for the
unexpected/surprises/drama

7. Recruiting
(essential archetypes)
• El Jefe (“The Boss”)
• Visionary (“Space Cadet”)
• Operations/Logistics (“The Accountant”)
• Marketing/PR (“The Promoter/The Hustler”)
• Volunteer Manager (“Cat Herder”)

8. Recruiting
(archetypes to avoid)
• The Egomaniac (“Me me me me me”)
• Mr. Flakey (“I was sick/I didn’t get that email”)
• The Contrarian (“I disagree”)
• The Gossip (“Listen, I shouldn’t tell you this, but ... ”)
• Slow-Pay Artists (“The check’s in the mail ...”)
• Credit-Hoggers (“Hey, that was MY idea. *I* should
be the one running [X]”)

9. How to Manage
People You Can’t Pay
• Cash is not the only currency that matters
• Find out what each person’s motivations are
and fulfill that need (ego, LinkedIn
recommendations, resume-building, etc)
• Cultivate loyalty and lead by example - be the
first one to work and the last to leave
• No task is “beneath” you

10. Managing with a Deft Touch
“ ” (ná nīe)
• If you find yourself micromanaging, you’re
doing it wrong
• Err on the side of action - “It’s better to ask
for forgiveness than permission”
• Write efficient “if-then” emails to circumvent
endless loops
• Listen to your consigliere

11. How to Fire People
(when you must)
• Be compassionate and magnanimous
• Have a successor briefed and ready to pick
up the slack immediately
• Be decisive!
• Accept that you will be the “bad guy” and
brace yourself for being blamed/slandered

12. Speaker Relations 101
• Find “anchor” speakers (those with large
followings who would actively promote your
event) EARLY.
• Don’t compromise speaker quality for fame
• Enforce speaker rules (speaking time, slide
submissions deadlines, etc.)
• Encourage pre-conference networking between
presenters

13. Sponsor Relations 101
• Get inside the heads of your prospective
sponsors (What are their priorities?)
• Deliver value to sponsors without
compromising the core values of TED
• Be a contrarian; reach out to
unconventional (but well-heeled) businesses
looking for visibility with your attendees

14. Engaging the Public
• Have a dedicated staffer minding PR
• Establish a consistent policy of how to deal
with negative people; TEDxBerkeley was
forced to reject over 900 applicants and a
few of them unleashed their wrath online
• Engage in productive conversations with
community beyond our live attendees (the
Hub spillover unconference)

15. Build in buffers for the
unexpected/surprises/drama

16. TEDx Roadblocks
“Brick walls are there for a reason - they
let us prove how badly we want something.”
- Randy Pausch, CMU
• Rejected attendees drama
• Speaker friction
• TED HQ
• Logistical nightmares

17. Maggie Clough, MFT
</life>
http://bit.ly/MaggieMFT

18. Lessons from TEDx
• PLAN AHEAD. Build lots of buffers
(financial, deadlines, otherwise) - you WILL
use them. Do not wait four weeks before
the event to hire the executive committee
• HIRE WELL. Bring in top-notch people
• BUILD ALLIES (with TED, non-overlapping
communities, businesses, schools etc.)

19. Four Things
• Recruit quality people
• Get commitments from good
speakers EARLY
• Proactively engage with the public/
sponsors
• Build in buffers for the unexpected/
surprises/drama (and expect to use it)

20. Thank You
Kai Chang
twitter: @kaichang
www.kaichang.com
www.autoblogger.net