My First Podcast and The Best of Potentially Focused Interviews - Part Two

Welcome to Potentially Focused. It's Thursday morning, November 7th.

I love podcasts and listen to many different ones. If we've spoken recently, I was probably excited to tell you about one I thought you might enjoy, and I frequently share podcast recommendations in this newsletter.

I'd like to start one of my own. That is a work in progress, but I'm happy to share a more personal recommendation today.

I was recently on a great new podcast as a guest. First time ever, and it was audio and (gulp!) video also.

Huge thanks to Chris Bray for inviting me on, making it a comfortable experience, and guiding us through a fun and fantastic conversation.

Our discussion is a good mix of looking backward with a POV informed by where we are now and more importantly, looking forward to where each of us may go next.

There's also talk about some of the more awkward pitch experiences I've had and I found out I say "soak it up" way more than I thought...

Please listen to or watch this and all of Bray's episodes. He has great guests like the always ahead of the curve Evan Shapīro and Rory Flynn , an AI expert who helps businesses tap into all that AI offers.

Spotify ? https://lnkd.in/d7vgPDSj

Apple ? https://lnkd.in/d6k7E7qG

Youtube ?https://lnkd.in/d_inFRqF

Thank you!

With the election and its aftermath the main thing so many are focused on right now, we are not publishing new content this week.

Instead, if you're looking for a break from politics, we're sharing the best of our recent interviews. This is part two.

In case you missed it, here is a link to part one.

Thanks to the terrific people we feature, both editions are well worth checking out. It's a great chance to catch up on helpful insights and shared experiences you may have missed.

Below are my favorite answers to the questions we’ve asked our recent guests.

One question and answer from each interviewee. As well as a link to the edition it was in if you want to read their entire interview.

Potentially Focused is a newsletter for busy people in the TV business (or not) who are curious. Anyone interested in growth. Great new possibilities, and the stories we tell ourselves that get us there or hold us back. Each (regular) edition features quick links to at least one great piece of content on professional development and one centered on personal growth. It's practical information and it all starts in just a few short sentences.

Please like, subscribe, and share if you're so inclined.

With deep appreciation,

Marco

And now...

THE BEST OF POTENTIALLY FOCUSED WITH...

David Karabinas

Co-Founder and CEO of Texas Crew Productions

What's one thing you're currently excited about?

There's a lot of disruption right now in our business, but I am choosing to be an optimist, and I'm going to say that what's exciting me most is the anticipation of what our entire unscripted landscape is going to look like in the next six months. People love watching screens and there needs to be something on the screen for them to watch. It can't all be TikTok videos and other user-generated content. There will always be a place for great professionally produced programs and we just have to figure out the best way to continue producing it and putting it in front of people. We're in a challenging moment but I'm confident we'll get through it and I'm excited to see what it looks like on the other side.

Click here for the rest of our interview with David!

Robyn Lattaker-Johnson

Agent, Storyteller, Mentor

You've made big changes in your career and had big success in a variety of different?roles as a platform executive,?producer, and agent. Tell us about how you navigate change and how you decide where to direct your career next.

Before I’d even met and worked for Oprah Winfrey I’d heard her say that part of her purpose was to help people lead their best lives. I’ve always thought that way and enjoy being able to use my career platform to do just that with hires, dev deals, content green lights, personal development, mentorship, etc. First of all, I’m a right-brained creative producer at heart with some left-brain skillsets. I love strategy, creative brainstorming, and people. I considered myself an advocate in the executive chair and was often referred to as a ‘producer’s executive’. For better or worse at the networks, I was championing story and the creative process. I was developing concepts with the?audience in mind (to the chagrin, perhaps, of any CFO I ever worked for, LOL) and on behalf of the producers and talent I believed in to pull it off. There came a point though, where the culture of corporate TV prioritized the pro formas over creativity. That’s business, and I get it, but it wasn’t as fun for me anymore. I became a corporate traffic cop just reporting back and forth between the production companies and the network.

As for my recent shifts, moving into artist?representation was the natural evolution of my time at the networks. Aside from the?relationships I’ve built in the unscripted world, I understood contracts and am a gentle but firm negotiator. More importantly though, it goes back to Oprah and helping my clients lead their best lives. Agents and managers sometimes have to do more than pitch a client or negotiate a deal. I’m an advisor/consigliere, a cheerleader, a therapist, a business strategist, and so much more.

I love what I do.

Click here for the rest of our interview with Robyn!

Danny Passman

Founder of Crybaby Media

Your career has been marked by finding or creating a unique role for yourself. I think in particular of your amazing ability to find talent and see the show they could carry, which has made you such a go-to creative partner. How did you find that lane?

I worked in series development at VH1 and fuse and then spent a few years traveling the world for content sites Dailymotion and Joost. Once those jobs ended, I had no clue what I was going to do. I knew I didn’t want to work at a network again (too many meetings) and I was skittish about physical production and didn’t want to work at a production company. (Fortunately, I have honed that skill). Anyway, in 2010 I wound up finding an unknown piece of talent and immediately sold a concept about him to Cooking Channel. (If only, it was that easy today!)? I then set up my development/casting company, Crybaby Media, and started consulting for other production companies looking for unknown talent. I pretty much “faked it until I maked it” but then really fell in love with talking to strangers and figuring out what makes them tick and how to create shows around them. At this point, I have traveled to so many small towns in America and have met talent in every subculture and religion. I have slept swampside, I narrowly escaped a sloth bite, I spent hours on a bus with hippies and left as they began a cuddle puddle.

I truly love the lane I created for myself and cannot believe I have had Crybaby Media up and running for over 14 years.

Click here for the rest of our interview with Danny!

Alex Hoff

Founder of CoverStory

Your career has seen you go from San Francisco to DC and now to Asia, first living in Korea and having recently moved to Vietnam. How have you navigated those changes and what's motivated them?

Well, the motivations are easy, I have an amazing wife who works for the State Department and I want to support her career and aspirations. Plus it means I get to eat an endless amount of noodles, so Korea and Vietnam are great places to live.

Navigating the changes is always easier said than done. It's hard to pick up and move homes, friends, jobs, and networks every three years, but I try to take it all as an opportunity (and remember how lucky?I am.) We have a rule when we move, for the first three months you have to say "yes" to every coffee, dinner, drink or opportunity. Sure, I've had my share of strange meetings. But having that mentality, I've made some amazing lifelong friends and it's also opened doors to major broadcasters, companies, and projects I would have never had access to. You never know who knows who and where it can take you.

The TV/Media business can feel competitive, overwhelming and just lame but it's amazing what a huge community there is out there. Just by asking friends and colleagues who they know, I was able to create a new network in Korea, Asia and now Vietnam.

And finally, this goes for any change but I spend a lot of time thinking about my "calling card." It's a complicated market these days and you can't be everything for everyone, everywhere. So it's better to be the first call on one project, than the fifth call on 10 projects.

Click here for the rest of our interview with Alex!

HAPPY WEEKENDING!

We never go into the weekend without sharing some fun stuff with you.

So here goes...

The legendary Quincy Jones passed away recently. May he rest in peace and condolences to all his loved ones. He lived a truly amazing life. Here are a few things you may not know about him.

And, below are a few of our recent favorite weekend distractions in case you missed them. (Or want to revisit them. Who am I to tell you what to do with your free time!)

Prince and The Bangles aren't the only music artists who've touted their love of the weekend, here's a great list of 21 songs about the weekend that promise to help you "enjoy it to the max."

Here's what to do if you want more hummingbirds to nest in your yard!

And because our brain moves from one association to the next, here's a list of 20 facts you might not know about the Nicholas Cage classic, Con Air, in which his character refers to his wife as "hummingbird"...

FINITO!

That's it, my friends! We'll be back on Tuesday, November 12th with another great edition featuring a fantastic new interview.

And it's with someone who left TV to start his own sports franchise!

Until then, wishing you all a fun and restful time with family and friends this weekend!

Thanks to you all for reading. Please let us know what you want more or less of. Please feel free to share information you’d like me to pass along to our readers. Also, always happy to feature guest contributors.

And of course, please like, subscribe, and share.

Thank You very much,

Marco