Strong Leader in Media/Entertainment

What are the talent requirements for next-generation leaders who will shape the future of the media, entertainment, and communications industry?

This was the topic of a keynote and panel conversation at WICT Southern California Leadership Luncheon at Fogo De Chao in Beverly Hills. The Dean of USC's Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, Ernest Wilson III, spoke about a significant problem in the entertainment industry- a one-trillion dollar global talent gap. He said that we can't find enough good talent with necessary competencies. He also mentioned that these "soft skills" are the most critical to learn and the entertainment industry is mainly unaware of this problem or how to fix it. He encouraged the audience to dedicate more time to resolving this issue.
USC completed research that explores the talent requirements needed for media and entertainment jobs in the 21st century. The University created a white paper in which they present unique strategic communication competencies in a new area that they coined the "third space."

These critical competencies have been identified as: adaptability, flexibility, comfort with ambiguity, curiosity, creativity, willingness to experiment, cultural competency, empathy, effective listening, collaboration, 360 degree thinking and pattern recognition.

From reading their white paper, and having been a VP of a movie studio, and a speaker on the WICT luncheon panel, I created my own top five talents that I believe are necessary to be a strong values-based leader:


1. MENTORSHIP: Find a strong and inspiring mentor, role model, or coach that can help you develop authentic leadership skills as there are no rule books. Look for someone who has embodied wisdom so they walk their talk. Offer mentorship to your employees if you are in a leadership position.

2. INNOVATION: Innovate or become irrelevant. Continuously learn and work on cultivating creativity and solutions that work. Look into the future and see the big picture of an extremely inter-connected world. Create stories and technology that helps humanity evolve and thrive.

3. COMPASSION: Establish respect and rapport quickly with colleagues and employees so collaboration is easy and fun. Be transparent and authentic when you share with collaborative partners so trust can be developed and be willing to see their perspectives with an open heart and mind.

4. EXPERIMENTATION: Be willing to test things out and take smart risks so you become the change-agent in your company. This may require you to develop a new training program for your leaders. As with all good experiments, you want to set specific goals and measure the results.

5. SYNERGY: Work/life balance is crucial for employee well-being, happiness and productivity. Finding ways to reduce stress and encourage well-rounded employees who have hobbies and interests outside of work is necessary. Create synergistic systems and remind all teams that they are part of a whole organism that needs to function together for ultimate efficiency.

I believe that we all have the "third space" skills inside and we just need coaching, education, and encouragement to live into our highest potential.

The good news is that there are different places where you can learn and receive training to embody these skills. Here are a few of my favorite places:

1. USM: A 10-month certificate program in Spiritual Psychology that teaches over twenty different communication competencies that help you be your best in business and life.

2. Synergy TV: A curated online video channel that showcases empowering role models, life and career coaches, solution-driven films, and inspirational thought-leaders who mirror a better world.

3. TrueSpark: A non-profit that pairs educational curriculum with inspirational movies to teach youth aged 11 - 18 about 24 different positive character traits.

4. Equine Rockstar: An equine coaching program that works with corporate and entrepreneur groups at a ranch in Malibu partnering with horses in team building and goal-setting exercises to improve leadership and communications skills.

5. USC: USC is starting an Institute for Diversity & Empowerment to provide education and help link talent strategy with corporate strategy, as well as train students on how to be great mentees as part of their Third Space initiative.

6. WICT: Women in Telecommunications offers mentorship programs to women in entertainment and media. Through various events, they are preparing, encouraging and rewarding women to step into their inner power and become leaders.

I encourage you to start the conversation in your organization about what your employees and colleagues need and how they can best be served. These skills are important to our collective future, not just in entertainment but as a society. The investment your company makes in coaching, training and educational programs will differentiate you in the industry. As one of the luncheon panelists mentioned, our careers are more like walking a labyrinth rather than climbing a ladder. Growth can happen at any turn, so enjoy the journey!

Spice Girls hint at 20th anniversary reunion tour

Are they or aren't they? Though officially remaining coy, members of the Spice Girls are hinting at a potential reunion tour next year, timed to the 20th anniversary of their first hit, Wannabe.

Fans worldwide buzzed after a report in The Sun newspaper said that four of the five original bandmembers – all but Victoria Beckham – have planned to reunite for an international tour, with an official announcement to come later in the year.

On Friday, Emma Bunton, nicknamed Baby Spice, initially seemed to splash cold water on that notion.

"Nothing's happening, at the moment," she noted on her Heart FM radio show. "If anything happens and it's concrete, and we decide on something, I will let you know."


That said, she and fellow singer Melanie Chisolm (Sporty Spice) teased fans online with an exchange of tweets hinting the opposite.

The Elvis Presley inspired stage musical

When my editor caught the run dates for Theatre at the Center's new production of "All Shook Up," the Elvis Presley inspired stage musical, she drew my attention to the closing show date — Aug. 16.

As she pointed out, it's the same fateful date of the anniversary of Presley's death at age 42 in 1977.

Even for those who are not a fan of The King, there's no denying his lasting impact and impression on others.

Actor David Sajewich gives Elvis his due, and then some, starring as the lead for this polished run of "All Shook Up," which is the perfect example of summer stage musical fun.

It runs just slightly more than two hours, including one intermission and Sajewich is cast as the Elvis-tribute lead character "Chad," a musical rebel with likeable qualities who manages to cast a spell over an entire small town.

All of the greatest hits from the Presley music library are showcased, woven with nostalgic rock n' roll highlights, romance and silly mix-ups with Theatre at the Center Artistic Director Bill Pullinsi and Jeff Award-winning choreographer Danny Herman co-directing. The musical features the book by Tony Award-winning Joe DiPietro.

What makes this musical so charming is it doesn't attempt to be serious or life-changing. Instead, it embraces an almost cartoon quality to entertain and leave audiences smiling.

Set in the summer of 1955 in a conservative Midwestern town, "All Shook Up" is described as the modern musical take on William Shakespeare's romantic comedy, "Twelfth Night." It follows the story of Natalie, played by talented, eye-twinkling Callie Johnson, who is a small town girl with big dreams for a life of adventure.

The answer to her prayers comes in the form of black leather jacket adorned musical Adonis, Chad, the role captured so ideally by Sajewich with his comic timing, velvety voice and bravado.

Mayor Matilda Hyde believes Chad's musical free-spirit ways are a corrupt influence on the youth of today and actress Iris Lieberman captures all of the kooky qualities of madam mayor and adds an element of eccentric excitement to her character.

The production highlights 24 classic Elvis hits in the musical comedy, including "Heartbreak Hotel," "Burning Love," "Jailhouse Rock," "Blue Suede Shoes," "It's Now or Never," "Don’t Be Cruel," "Hound Dog," "Can't Help Falling In Love" and "Fools Rush In."

Other fun moments come courtesy of Matthias Austin as Natalie's age-defying father Jim;Justin Brill for a very funny turn as sidekick Dennis; Sharriese Hamilton who sparkles as Lorraine; Allison Sill brings her own clever spin to straight-laced museum curator Miss Sandra; and Bethany Thomas belts out her every tune with fire and passion as cafe owner Sylvia.Patrick Tierney is fun as the mayor's son Dean, and Steve Silver claims his own moment near the conclusion as Sheriff Earl. The ensemble includes Annelise Baker, Julie Baird, Caitlin Borek, Johnson Brock, Brian Duncan, Reneisha Jenkins, Kayla Kennedy, Eric Lewis, John Marshall and Henry McGinniss.

Jeff Award-winning scenic designers Jackie Penrod and Richard Penrod creative an inventive landscape with lighting and projection design from Guy Rhodes added to the talents of sound designer Barry Funderburg and dazzling costume designs from Brenda Winstead with wig designer Kevin Barthel.

A movable feast:Louis food trucks

Five years after the food-truck boom in St. Louis began in earnest, new trucks keep arriving. There’s always, it seems, another niche to fill.
Smoothies?
JuiceMasters serves them from a truck.
Not just coffee, but fancy pour-over coffee?
The Grove coffee shop Rise serves it from a truck.
Nutrition-focused food from the Cardinals team chef?
Revel Kitchen serves it from a truck.
Kevin Baker and Eddie Bohn spotted a market for hot Italian beef sandwiches and other fare from Bohn’s native Chicago, so the duo launched 22 August, one of the newest additions to the St. Louis food-truck fleet.
(The truck’s name references Bohn’s mother’s birthday. “She passed away a couple years ago and left him a little money,” Baker said. “Just enough to get a food truck up and running.”)
The crowded food-truck field didn’t dissuade them. At 22 August’s three main stops — the established city food-truck haunts at Citygarden downtown, the Wells Fargo campus in midtown and the Barnes-Jewish campus in the Central West End — Baker reports that the truck has already gained a set of regular customers.
St. Louis’ proximity to Chicago “has gotten us a lot of attention,” Baker said. “We’ll show up, and there will be five or six other trucks, and we’ll get a little concerned, but we’re doing all right.”
When Go! Magazine cataloged St. Louis’ food trucks in December 2013, we counted 45 mobile vendors. This summer, we counted 60, give or take. (A couple of trucks have announced, but not begun, their operations.)
What’s more, of 2013’s roster, only five trucks have ceased operations or taken an extended hiatus. A sixth, Burger Ink, shut down in favor of a brick-and-mortar restaurant, the Tattooed Dog, in Wentzville.
Several other trucks have added, or are about to add, brick-and-mortar restaurants, includingGuerrilla Street Food, Lulu’s Local Eatery and Taco Truck STL.
My Big Fat Greek Truck opened its restaurant, the Little Greek Corner, just last week in Fenton. Owner Danny Botonis said the restaurant will help address one major issue that will always concern St. Louis food trucks.

“I always wanted to have a restaurant,” co-owner Danny Botonis said. “We happened to start with the food truck four years ago. (The truck) is great, but it’s seasonal.”

Glastonbury 2015 interview

Glastonbury 2015 interview: Emily Eavis on 'selling out' and a trio of secretive 'baby spiders'
Emily Eavis has been running the Glastonbury festival with her father Michael since 1999. She talks to Jamie Merrill about running the biggest music event in the world and why it has lost none of its soul
With only a few days before the gates open on the Glastonbury festival, Emily Eavis is pleased to see that the fields and hedgerows of her little corner of Somerset have been bathing in sunshine. The sky is deep, clear blue and the woman who holds the power at Worthy Farm can feel the excitement building. But with most of the setting up on the vast 1,000-acre site complete, Worthy Farm looks oddly naked. The 1,300 eco-friendly composting lavatories and the dozens of temporary stages are all in place, but the Vale of Avalon is still awaiting the sea of tents and 135,000 soon-to-be sunburned (or mud-caked) ticket holders, who will descend upon it from tomorrow morning.
"I certainly wouldn't call this moment the calm before the storm or anything like that," says Eavis, who has run the world-famous festival with her father, Michael, since 1999. "But we are nearly there with it. It's just the finishing touches now." Those finishing touches mean that a fleet of Land Rovers is constantly scurrying back and forth across the site and an army of workers are painting the last of the festival's trademark decorated bins and erecting the banners. On Friday, it also meant that Eavis, along with her husband, Nick Dewey, who helps her to run the day-to-day business of booking bands and supervise the construction of a temporary city the size of Oxford, had some last-minute "rejigging" of the Friday night line-up to oversee.
The Independent arrived at Worthy Farm – now complete with offices for 20 full-time staff – just as Eavis and Dewey were discussing the changes they need to make now that Florence and the Machine have stepped up to the headline slot, replacing the Foo Fighters after frontman Dave Grohl broke his leg. "We are probably just going to do a rejigging of what we've already got," she says, as Dewey leaves the room, phone in hand. "But it's going to be great. I'm so excited about Florence. The fact is that when we sell our tickets in October people don't know who is playing as we don't announce it until the spring. They had a window to return their tickets [in April], but this year very fewer people than last year took us up on that, which was amazing."
There's also the fact, she is quick to add, that "Florence is massive" and well deserving of her new headliner slot. "I think personally that when she walks on the stage she'll be the biggest star in the world. She's amazing live. She has all the right ingredients."
"We book bands here on those reasons, on the ingredients of a great performance, not on their record sales. But as it happens, Florence has been number one across the Atlantic and here. She's an amazing star and a massive performer. We've had much more risky headliners." Florence is also a female headliner, a species that is in short supply this summer as Britain's festivals have been attacked for failing to represent the female domination of the charts. "It's definitely a positive by-product," adds Eavis. "It's true that there are very few women headlining festivals this summer, and this helps that, I suppose. It's great."
For Eavis, though, Glastonbury is about more than the "headliners and band, bands, bands, bands". It has a turnover of more than £35m and a seasonal crew of 50,000, enabling her and her father to donate £2m to charity each year. Then there's the farm itself, which this year was voted Britain's best dairy farm by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers. In fact, the team around Emily and Michael still insist that Steve Kearle, the long-serving farm manager, not Michael or Emily, is the most important person on the site.
"I obviously get excited about the bands, because we work on those all year and we have fantastic headliners. But in all honesty, I get just as excited about the other performers and fantastic visual installations and sculpture by artists like Joe Rush," she says. "To me, the music is part of a massive picture, and that picture involves amazing circus, ballet, theatre, comedy and visual art. The artistic side is amazing here. You could go easily the entire festival without seeing a band."
This year, that less mainstream side of Glastonbury has grown even stronger. There are 1,500 performances in the Theatre and Circus field alone, says Eavis and a trio of secretive "baby spiders" will join the giant fire-breathing mechanical spider in the late-night area Arcadia. Arcadia is already loved by festival goers who flock to its dystopian avenues in the early hours of the morning, but she is coy about the spiders, only saying the "triplet" will be part of a "phenomenal" new nightly show.
Elsewhere on the site, Eavis says she is looking forward to performances from the Danza de los Voladores, a troupe of Mexican dancers who will help open the festival at King's Meadow tomorrow night. From the top of their 30ft poles they will perform a Mexican ritual ceremony that Eavis says will "wow" festival goers. There is also a new Tor View Lookout by the circus tent, and a new Temple in the Park viewing platform and real ale bar on the site's highest point above the Park Stage.
For Eavis these new sites are a reward for the festival's hardcore and most loyal fans who return every year to a new discovery. In recent years they have "embraced" the festival like never before, she says. By Thursday lunchtime, as many as 90 per cent of ticket holders will have already arrived, a full day before the music actually starts. This loyalty doesn't stop the yearly controversies, though, including a tax protest against U2 in 2011. This year the inevitable saga has been a 130,000-signature petition to prevent rapper Kanye West from performing at the festival. "We try not to feed the [online] frenzy," she says carefully. "That petition was started by a guy called Neil who had never been to Glastonbury. He's coming now. I'm not going to meet him, but he's very welcome and he can make a decision after the show. I think Kanye is going to be fantastic."
It's clear Eavis is somewhat bored of the faux outrage every time she and Dewey book a group that isn't four white men with guitars. "Complaining about Kanye at Glastonbury is like going to London as saying you are appalled that Miss Saigon is playing," she says. "In that case, go to Les Misérables instead… or the thousands of other shows."
There's also the question of Kanye West's lyrics, which are hardly what you'd describe as feminist-friendly. "Oh God," says Eavis. "If we censored the lyrics and views of people who performed we wouldn't have anyone. We wouldn't have had the Rolling Stones, or pretty much any of the headliners from the last 20 years." Not everyone will agree, but Eavis says she and her husband don't take a band's politics or lyrics into account. "It's rock and roll," she says. "The important thing is that they deliver the goods by making the crowd feel like they are part of something really spectacularly special."
Glastonbury is certainly a special experience, but each year some complain that with its vast security fence, celebrities in Hunter wellies and colonies of expensive yurts, it has lost some of its soul, the so-called Glastonbury spirit. This year the latest (unofficial) wheeze is a private jet service offering rides to the festival for £600, a development that Eavis says she would find funny if it didn't threaten to drown out Glastonbury's real message.
"I hadn't even heard about that," she responds. "It's like that hammering board game my boys have got. Things like this are popping up all the time, they have nothing to do with us and we try to knock them down. Corporations and business people keep coming up with these things, but we are not interested in them in the slightest."
In truth, the festival does have corporate tie-ins with the BBC, The Guardian and mobile firm EE, which provides 4G data coverage and charging facilities across the site, but Eavis says deals only get the "go ahead" if they help fund Glastonbury's donations to Water Aid, Oxfam and Greenpeace. "We give as close to £2m to charity as we can every year. That is our upmost priority," she says.
Eavis has been helping her father run the festival since she came home from university when her mother died in 1999. In reality, though, she's had "full control" of the reins for a decade and her father, Michael, is taking an increasingly small role. "Dad leaves Nick and I to handle most things now, so it doesn't feel like there is going to be dramatic handover moment or anything like that, because in a way it has already happened," she says. "A lot has changed for him. He didn't have these constant corporate approaches to deal with 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago, where we have media and corporate brands trying to cling on. He just doesn't understand it."
Earlier this year, Michael said his daughter was "cunning" in how she runs the festival, and keeps it true to its founding ethos. She laughs at this, but as if to prove her father's take on her, she quickly confirms that all three headliners for Glastonbury 2016 are already booked.
Are they guitar bands? "I can't answer that. It would give it away," she laughs. "Everybody has a band or guitars anyway, or nearly everybody." She's right to be secretive; the last thing she wants this weekend is another online petition on her hands.