Today is the first day back in the office for Gemba’s Dojo award winners Zoe Hartas and Dave Everitt after their whirlwind Dojo Explore trip of a lifetime to the NBA All Star weekend in Charlotte.

If you were expecting them to be tired, you’d be wrong. They are both full of energy and ideas after their experience and eager to put their learning to work for Gemba and our clients.

For those of you not familiar with Dojo Explore, we’ll give you some background.

In 2015 Gemba created the Dojo Award. The Dojo Award sits within our Learning & Development Program – The Gemba School of Thought. This award really serves two purposes. Firstly, it is designed to recognise people in our business who have contributed significantly to business strategy and company growth. And secondly, it is an opportunity to accelerate their personal learning and career development in a a sports and entertainment environment full of amazing activations, networking opportunities, and panel discussions.

So how do we do both of those things? Simple. We send them to an amazing sport and entertainment experience, ensure they hit all the associated events, and set up a tonne of meetings with relevant thought leaders in the #SportsBiz and #Entertainment space. Previous Dojo Award winners have attended the 2015 Rugby World Cup in London, The Sundance Film Festival in Utah, and the US Open Tennis. This year it was NBA All Star Weekend.

Dave was clear on how much he enjoyed the experience, “As a basketball fan and #SportsBiz professional, heading to NBA All Star weekend in Charlotte was both incredibly insightful and entertaining. An experience I’m very grateful for.”

To see everything that Zoe and Dave got up to, check out the #DojoExplore on both Instagram and Twitter. But here are a few highlights according to Zoe:

• Supporting our Aussie Fed Cup girls through a high-stakes win against the US
• Meeting with senior stakeholders from 7 different major sporting organisations and marketing agencies 
• Tours of key venues and facilities such as the Team Penske campus, where their team of 600+ still manufacture their cars
• Attending insightful panel discussions such as the Sport Business Journal’s discussion on innovation, which was led by the likes of the NBA’s Chief Innovation Officer and ESPN’s EVP of scheduling and broadcast
• Soaking up EVERY SINGLE SECOND of the 2019 NBA All Star weekend where we were lucky enough to attend all 3 days of events as well as fully immerse ourselves in all fan experiences and activations.

As Zoe said, “Trip of a lifetime! Coming back with a heap of great learnings, experiences, and memories as well as a bit of affirmation that Gemba really are the authority in sport and entertainment”.

Speaking to Dave and Zoe, and hearing about their experiences, we know that it makes all of us keener than ever to hit the heights needed to secure the Dojo Award next year.

To see all of their experiences in detail, see some amazing photos, and hear some great insight, check out the #DojoExplore on Twitter and Instagram.

If you’re interested in opportunities at Gemba, check out the Jobs tab on our careers page or LinkedIn, or reach out to any one of our amazing team.