Creative Director Case Study THE EXECUTIVE’S CHALLENGE: Diane Carson worked tirelessly for the better part of three years to fulfill her dream of revitalizing one of the small “art film” companies she admired in her youth. Despite her enormous contributions to the bottom line, the siblings who owned this closely held family business were unwilling to make her a partner and planned to reduce her creative control by placing another family member above her in the organizational structure. Diane realized it was time to leave and negotiated an amicable departure. The task of marketing herself as an Executive Producer, however, was daunting because there were countless artistic film people in the market willing to work for less money than she required. Also, Diane feared she wouldn’t have enough to show in the way of creative product from her years at Soho Films (not the actual name) due to the fact that she spent most of her time and effort persuading the owners of necessary changes, finding the least expensive ways to operate globally and being the voice of reason to calm and resolve family feuds. DAN COBEN’S RESUME STRATEGY: “Like many of the people I’ve helped, Diane Carson was so fixated on the unfairness of being exploited and unrewarded for her accomplishments that she was unable to see how this experience had expanded her skills and made her infinitely more valuable in the marketplace. As she vented about all the conceptual strategies, interpersonal tactics and business savvy she mustered ‘just to do her job,’ I could see that she was ready to lead a major media company and would be underselling herself to seek another ‘producer’ role. Diane laughed the first time I said this, but after crafting her a resume that fully and factually described the extent of her leadership, organizational development, negotiating and talent management capabilities and the significance of the impact she made, she was galvanized with confidence and raised her sights." THE RESULTS: Diane Carson was selected as New York Head of Broadcasting Business for the second largest media firm in the world. |
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