Podcast: AMC Networks' Arlene Manos on Mentors, "Mad Men" and Management

EB Mossamp160 The International Radio and Television Society Foundation now as a forum for all aspects of media just called quotIRTSquot says its mission is quotbuilding future media leadersquot amp160So is that what mentoring is all aboutArlene Manos amp160I think it is amp160Like so many of those names of things we used to be like American Movie Classics becoming AMC or how AampampE was originally Arts and Entertainment things grow and morph and change purpose amp160So initials can stand for a lot amp160That39s exactly what has become true of the IRTS amp160And they do develop future media leaders with their intern programamp160amp160I think it39s very worthwhile amp160It encourages diversity and is a terrific programMoss amp160The IRTS web mission describes a great way to frame our conversation amp160It39s ultimate goal is quotto bring together the wisdom of yesterday39s founders the power of today39s leadersamp160and the promise of tomorrow39s young professionalsquotamp160 So let39s talk about the wisdom you39ve gained in the ad business from others amp160Who did you count on in your early stage careerManosamp160 Well Jack Myers was the first person to hire me into the television industryMoss amp160Jack Myers the founder of MediaVillageManosamp160 That39s right amp160But looking further back I realize my first mentor was an older man at Philadelphia Magazine a very traditional sales guy but he never saw a difference between men and women amp160He thought everybody deserved a shot and was as fair as could be amp160He believed in me and started me off in sales as did Jack when he hired me from print into television for a new retail business development department to leverage my retailer contacts amp160Very few upscale retailers like Bloomingdale39s and Saks were using television just print amp160At the time the business was spotoriented not developmentally oriented Jack and I navigated a lot of headwinds forging new ground amp160It was a very difficult task but with that initiative we put ourselves on the mapMoss amp160What was your takeaway from that early experienceManosamp160 I wasn39t comfortable with risks but I was willing to take them amp160I was pretty good at collaboration and disarming a hardboiled sales team a bit They didn39t welcome our efforts much amp160But there39s nothing like success and we were successful and therefore respectedMoss amp160You were selling classic movies on what had been American Movie Classics amp160When the brand started to evolve to AMC with top shows like The Walking Dead how did that change how you managed and hired the sales force Manosamp160 There39s no such thing as a born salesperson amp160I look for common characteristics energy passion work ethic the ability to read others and to read a room amp160Don39t try to put people into a pattern or box amp160Manage them as the individuals they are because people are motivated differently Certain basics have to be there amp160you can39t spend all your time mentoring amp160Look for their ability to emulate to pick up on best practices amp160They really learn from one another as much as they do from meMoss amp160How do you coach someone Manosamp160 Be direct and honest not confrontational or judgmental amp160Always tell them when things are not going well amp160They don39t always love you for it but it39s not always about encouragementMoss amp160You brought in about a billion dollars in revenue in any given year Manosamp160 We39re getting right up to that now amp160We have a whole stable of products here beyond just Mad Men and Breaking Bad BBC America to IFCMoss amp160As things were rapidly evolving in the last 10 years with No 1 shows on your hands you39ve had to be innovative with advertisers Manos amp160You have to know your target and who39s the right fit amp160Perhaps Amazon or CocaCola are right for a very expensive spot amp160However other advertisers need something different a little more context or immersion amp160For example we worked in cooperation with Samuel Adams and IFC39s Brockmireamp160to highlightamp160Boston Beer amp160Samuel Adams also promoted IFC39s Documentary Now with a PBStype fundraising segment amp160That type of immersion was something different that we could do with IFC amp160You can39t do it with all networks amp160You can39t just plop a product in front of somebodyamp160and have it be so obvious because it ruins the show amp160The producers won39t put up with it and the audience doesn39t like it eitherMoss amp160As a mentor what do you recommend for the sales forces in today39s industry Manosamp160 Expose yourself to as much as you can amp160Go to conferences become aware of everything and don39t think that your area isn39t going to change because it39s all changing amp160Just like how we see things changing so at this point we have invested in the streaming services stay alert and immerse yourselfMoss amp160Who would you like to have as a mentor even anyone in history if you were starting out todayamp160amp160 Manosamp160 I would go back to that man that gave me my very first chance to go into sales because I didn39t even know what media sales was amp160I needed to make some money and he looked at me and he said quotI think you can do itquot amp160 That gave me a lot of confidenceClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Podcast: AMC Networks' Arlene Manos on Mentors, "Mad Men" and Management

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E.B. Moss

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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Podcast: AMC Networks' Arlene Manos on Mentors, "Mad Men" and Management

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