A collection of 7 views on the p-Pb run from experts with different roles (theoretical, experimental and machine physicists) who were closely involved on both the LHC and the ALICE side. The physics motivation for p-Pb collisions at the LHC is described as well the challenges involved for the production of the beams and their delivery to the experiments and, on the detector side, the preparations needed to absorb the high rates of the p-Pb collisions. These accounts are of interest to physics students, the heavy ion community, accelerator physicists and the general public with knowledge of and interest in large experiments.