Brenda Lane Coaching
Legends Series
Summer! Whether you are dancing in the summer rain (London crew!) or roasting pretty much anywhere in the US/Mexico/Canada (North American crew) this magical season, longed for all year is HERE! In the tradition of great summer reading, check out my interview with Rob Barnett: Media expert, former President of CBS Radio Programming, author, MTV/VH1 exec, entrepreneur, father, friend, and now Headhunter, helping people find their next best job. He is one of the most positive, real people I have ever known. Resilience in a very intense industry (Hello showbiz!) is critical. Read on to be INSPIRED!
BL: Rob, what was your dream job when you were a kid? If not radio/music, what was the catalyst that turned you on to your passion?
RB: Music, film and television fully ignited imagination from the start. Rock & Roll captured my soul. My parents took me to my first concert when I was seven. Jimi Hendrix opened for The Monkees at Forest Hills in Queens, New York in 1967!!
BL: What is the biggest risk you ever took professionally, and did it turn out as you wished?
RB: Not long after YouTube launched, I saw the future of television - knowing it was time to exit "old media" and dive headfirst into launching my own studio and network called "My Damn Channel".
We raised tens of millions of dollars to create hundreds of original series with top talent from film and television - giving millions of fans access to new music and comedy - supported by brands who wanted to get in on the ground floor of online entertainment.
We took huge risks as early pioneers. Our company was up and running many years before Netflix and Amazon made the pivot to original series. We employed hundreds of people for 10 years in NYC & LA from 2006-2016. You can still find thousands of our videos by searching "My Damn Channel" on YouTube.
BL: You entered radio when it was the biggest driving force in breaking new music and DJ's were what we now think of an 'influencers'. As corporations took over radio stations, the format of these stations changed and the whole culture around radio devolved into what we have now. How did you handle this, and where did your pivot take you? Was this the beginning of your MTV tenure?
RB: I started in rock radio in the late 70s, when the business was still run by companies who trusted the staff to play the music we wanted to play - and to say whatever we wanted to say between the records. That freedom was why radio was the one true social media of its time.
By the late 80s, corporations began buying up as many radio stations as they could get. Owners hired consultants who stole decision-making power away from program director and DJs - quickly turning stations across the country into clones. That's when I made the leap into something new, experimental, and world-changing - into a management job at MTV.
BL: I know you had a lot of success at MTV, and also at VH1. It must have been a very different universe than the world of radio. How did you feel about the change, did someone mentor you, or was it a bit more of you winging it, and making it up as you went along?
RB: When I joined MTV in the late 80s, we were still almost 100% music videos - with a few important "shows" like "Yo! MTV Raps" & "Remote Control." Many of the people I worked with made the segue from radio to TV. We were all learning together - but we had the perfect luck to be working for senior managers who gave us the freedom to take risks, to make mistakes, to fail without being fired, and to regularly co-create an entirely new form of entertainment that changed the world.
I'm forever grateful to everyone I worked with for a dozen years of adventures at both MTV & VH1.
BL: You were working in the grooviest industry on the planet, with the biggest musical stars in the world. You were a part of it. How did you keep grounded?
RB: All of us who work in any part of media ride a rollercoaster. Over time, if you're lucky, you learn to take the highs in stride - to make sure the lows don't hurt too hard, for too long - before regaining the strength and confidence to get back on the next best ride.
BL: I know you had a wild time when you were President of CBS Radio after Howard Stern left. Can you speak to that time? How did you recover from that experience? What came next?
RB: There's a link on YouTube to watch the whole story when I was a guest on Howard's radio & TV show a few years after it all went down.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hp6nx
BL: Reinvention: You started as a headhunter and career advisor six years ago. RobBarnettMedia.com taps into your many strengths, social intelligence, and matchmaking. Is this something that you learned during your career, or do you think that social intelligence is a secret sauce superpower that one is born with?
RB: My two youngest children are both getting their first work experiences now - at 16 - as servers and hosts in restaurants. They're both doing so much better at that job than their dad ever could. It's beautiful to see them learning the same lessons all of us have to keep on learning throughout our own careers about how to best deal with bosses, coworkers, and customers.
Working on the job, or working to find your next best job, is a constant game of chess. You win more often if you're able to imagine yourself in someone else's position. What are they thinking? How are they feeling? How can I make the next best move by trying to first see the potential outcomes in advance?
It's an honor to be able to work with companies who need to hire the best employee - and to work with job seekers to help them create the best strategy to win the role they most. After decades of being hired and fired, and many years working as a headhunter, I was asked to write a book to help as many people as possible:
Next Job, Best Job: A Headhunter's 11 Strategies To Get Hired Now
BL: Reinvention and resilience: What is the secret to recovering and flourishing after an unforeseen life u turn? Professionally, personally?
RB: The first answer that comes to mind is “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba. But the best advice I can ever share came in the form of a miracle when Bob Dylan gave me permission to share his advice in Chapter 4 of my book. Here's just some of what Bob says:
"A lot of times you might be farming around and not
knowing what’s right and you might do something
dumb, but that’s only because you don’t know what
to do in the first place. But if you know what’s right
and it strikes you at a certain time then you can
usually believe that instinct. And if you act on it, then
you’ll be successful at it. Whatever it is."
BL: Thank you so much for your time and wisdom, Rob. Grateful for you.
For a constant influx of positivity and inspiration, check out Rob's website and follow him on social media.
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Rob Barnett
Headhunter
bit.ly/robbarnett (subscribe free)
Rob Barnett Email Signup
Rob Barnett Email Signup
It all started when…
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