Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1520492
40 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2024 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE ing fast, and failing forward. There were a few epiphanies over time that kind of woke me up. But I think it's all about failing. Failing is how you get to where you can lead. In our industry, we talk a lot about Six Sigma and Lean. There's a continuous improve- ment piece. If you're really pliable, you're not just thinking of different ways to do what you do professionally; you're also trying to bet- ter yourself. You have to bring that forward. I probably didn't really figure that out until my mid-30s. Early on in my career, I had a team mutiny. Not because I was pushing them too hard, but because I was pushing myself too hard, and they felt like they needed to model their behavior on mine. They reached a breaking point. I learned a lot from that failure, and many others. The failures help you lead. Nguyen: As a student, I'm wondering how I'm going to align myself for future jobs. What are you looking for in a job candidate? Bailey: I look for candidates who—I hate the term "think outside the box"—but who are willing to think atypically, nonlinearly, or non-traditionally. For me, the other thing is character. When I'm working with a new vendor, I take them out to lunch, and I see how they treat the servers. It's such a great litmus test, and you find out who the jerks are. I think it's true whether you're picking vendors or employees. Skills and patterns can be taught, but character can't. Tobey Marsicovetere: I have a million and two questions! I'm an annual pass holder. I live in Florida, and I'm in Galaxy's Edge once a month. My husband and I are both bounty hunters, so I'm the full-deal nerd- out. I'm really excited about the new droids that are coming. So, with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, what exactly were you involved in? I also really love Smugglers Run, and I've never had enough people to do Chewbacca mode, and it's killing me. But I'd love to know a little bit more about your involvement in either of these. Bailey: Wow, that's great to hear. At Walt Disney Imagineering, there are three main groups. There are the people who build the buildings; the people that build the systems that move the people through the buildings, the rides; and then there are the show peo- ple who put all the stuff in the building that people come to see. I was in the latter of those. It may have changed a little bit since I was there. But basically, there's a technical director, the creative and artistic team, and then there's the show manager. That group of three is responsible for everyone getting all the surfaces and technical items built and tested and for creating the strategies to get all the things done. That includes myriad disciplines—everything from programmers to technicians, to artists, and all of that. So, my role as the technical director was to oversee anything related to any of those subsystems or contents of the