Invitation to a Big Fat Media Deal | Audio Recordings
Title: Big Fat Media Deal R&D Calls
Wednesday May 30, 2007 | Audio Recording
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Thursday May 31, 2007 | Audio Recording
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If you had 10 minutes with Simon Cowell (of American Idol and Il Divo fame) what would you most like to say?
Something like…
“Not to be rude but…I have a TV show idea featuring coaches I’d love you to do…aren’t you getting bored of American Idol yet?”
Hmm, not sure he would buy that, but… 
On the other hand, he DID buy rights to a very exciting coaching-based Television Show this year…
And it WAS pitched by a coach just like you and I…
The premise is taking bleepity-bleep Bosses and turning them into hero Bosses. Think Nanny 911 but for Executives. Come on, there’s **lots** in common between bratty kids and annoying bosses, isn’t there? 
Seriously though, it is a very exciting project. And it has its share of interesting things to navigate, especially in order to preserve the spirit of coaching in the end result. Needless to say, when ‘Hollywood’ meets ‘Coaching’ intriguing things can happen if you know what I mean.
What we covered in the calls:
- What the show is all about and when it will air
- What Danusia said to Simon Cowell when she met him earlier this year
- Why she thinks this particular show concept was picked up
- What the major opportunities are, in her opinion, for coaching
And we asked you for help providing ideas, comments and suggestions for:
- How and where to attract the best bosses for the show – perhaps you know of one or more?
- What needs to be in place for the best coaching to happen – what you think is important.
P.S. Just WHO is this Coach Danusia Malina-Derben? As I said, she is just like you and I. And… she’s a really remarkable talent with a big mushy heart. If she gets her way, this show is going to be much more than TV.
We’re just going to have to keep watching, won’t we?
Here is Danusia’s current webpage describing her biz:
http://www.lifewizards.co.uk/team.html#
Be sure to click the link beside her photo for a slice of her personal story.
Dear Danusia and Andrea,
I just wanted to say congratulations to you and share my excitement at what you are bringing to humanity. My name is Nellie Moore and I was the first person to speak on the call today. There are so many larger and smaller pictures here that you are addressing. In addition to being a Coach, I am also a Licensed Massage Therapist. What I see happening in the coaching field right now is what I saw happening in the massage field as it went from “getting a rub” in sports clubs, or something only the elite could afford to mainstream. Massage and other complementary healing modalities are now welcome in mainstream health care (I piloted one of these programs in a retirement home).
Massage is now being taken mainstream to the everyday person via membership packages such as Massage Envy (http://www.massageenvy.com), like a health club, except affordable massage via membership. While there are varying feelings about doing this with massage from therapists, the feedback from the public on the blog (link below) who are using these services is positive. The link and blog do not seem to have any link to Massage Envy. I wonder if the CEO knows about it. . .
The area that needs addressing are sometimes disgruntled massage therapists as independent contractors who feel they are being asked to do so much or that massage as a profession is being degraded. You can read all of their feedback at this link which has posts from both the public and from therapists http://www.indeed.com/forum/cmp/Massage-Envy.
In fact they may be one of your “Bosses or CEO’s to contact or at least give you more ideas. Massage Envy is based in Arizona, USA. I found the link as I was reading up on what is taking place in the field and came across this blog written by therapists and clients as it relates to Massage Envy and the club concept.
I can see Coaching as next (learning from the process of others about what works and does not such as the example of Massage Envy above). When I think of what Simon did with American Idol and the fundraiser project for Africa I really believe he knows what he is doing and that he is making a very smart business move in creating this program with you. While American Idol is about the next pop star, the show also tells the personal story. This year they went one much bigger by bringing in a humanitarian piece. Doing good works through entertainment. Live Aid, all off the fund-raising done for Katrina via concerts, restaurants donating portions of proceeds etc . . . It is possible to entertain and do great works (and leave out the humiliation such as happens at the Idol auditions sometimes). The power of telling a story . i.e. Milton Erickson, has great potential to make a difference in the world and I feel that people are looking again for the hero’s, for leaders . . . coaching can show people how . . .
Here’s one to ponder about what we leave behind http://www.howtobecomeahero.com/ It’s a website and Yahoo group newsletter I subscribe to and really enjoy for her thought provoking work . . . This newest entry is about your obituary and what you leave behind. . . Are you living your legacy now? Are Bosses living their legacy?
Congratulations to you and to the coaching profession as a whole. And in the bigger picture, humanity. What you are doing is huge and I am honored to share in the process and be on the R&D calls with you. It does my soul good to know that there are so many of us out there who have this wonderful vision to make such a profound difference in the world, and we are doing it.
I would love to be a part of this in a bigger way as well. Just tell me how.
I’ll be in touch again later today to share ideas that have come to me on this.
Warmly,
Nellie
Nellie Moore
Licensed HeartMath (R) 1 on 1 Provider
Licensed Wellness Inventory (R) Provider
http://www.wysewomen.com
http://www.heartmath.com
http://www.heartmath.org
HeartMath is a licensed trademark of HeartMath LLC
Wow! This is a great project and will change the way coaching is thought of, who it is for, and the tremendous diffeence it can make in people’s lives — working and personal. I want to hear more! The ripple effect will be huge –I hope to be a part of it. Please let us know about progress on the show and when it will be aired.
Warm regards,
Holly
Danusia, Andrea — Wow, doing an R&D call on this HUGE media project is a great idea. I had fun participating in the call…
A couple of things:
It might be helpful to hear from Danusia HOW she positioned her pilot — I know she mentioned that she didn’t pitch from a coaching perspective, but an entertainment one. Since we are coaches on the call, I think it might help us to understand what kind of distinctions she created when she initially pitched the product. It might give us ideas on how to make this project entertainment-oriented, while staying true to coaching and purpose of “bringing humanity to the workplace.”
I’m also curious to know what impact you want to make on the viewer. Is it a show like The Nanny, where the expert offers advice to struggling parents every week — kind of a BEFORE and AFTER approach? Or, do you want to create a program more like The Apprentice, where the viewer gets engaged emotionally each week with different players in the game?
What is the purpose?
Are you trying to educate/inform?
Get the viewer to relate and take action?
Do you need to be dramatic?
How will you engage the viewer?
I do think this is the perfect time for this kind of program. I see this program as a kind of antidote to the show The Office. Wouldn’t it be fun to coach Steve Carrell’s character? It would resonate with people because the writers of the program have created a character over the weeks that is very familiar that one that people feel they know.
Over what period of time will you be coaching The Boss? What kind of results do you want to see? Do you need to get dramatic results or incremental ones? Is it enough to have someone have a major insight within the coaching session, or is the point to show transformation over time — and it’s impact on other office members, family, etc.
These are my thoughts for the moment. Talk to you tomorrow. Hope this helps — I’m really interested in your project. Let me know if I can be of further help to you. Thanks, Leslie
Leslie Evans
http://www.youarefree.com
http://www.virtualcareercoachingweek.com
http://www.youarefreeagents.blogspot.com
Hello Ladies,
Yesterday’s call was very exciting and full of great ideas! I particularly loved Ken’s comments about “stereo types’. I would like to share some of my thoughts, questions and my ideas with all of you.
(?) How are you going to keep a prosepctive business in tact so that this scrutiny under bright ligths does not cause a loss in their revenue? Taking a hit in the image department can be deadly to a large firm, especially if Wall Street “covers” them.
(?) How would a company apply to be the client?
(?) What are the parameters of the selection process?
(?) I have a hundred other questions.
(Thoughts)
What would happen if you had the entire season filmed under lights both in the office and in the home(of the key players who experience Transformational Change and growth) and then have a creative editor who does the peices of the process in condensed form and when the “AHA Moment happens” there is a bubble or the tumbling puzzle piece which goes to the envisioning of the AHA and the new image which then tumbles into another screen that is the beginnings of the “new piture” which is being formed? By the end of the show or season and in all of the promos and trailers the tumbling puzzle piece (or whatever icon you choose to use) can show “fragmented scenario” then transform or morph into the shape and tumble into its place in the puzzle or picute, and on the eventual season finale with the entire “new coached business” in its “GOAL” format.
(THOUGHT)
AHA moments contain a physical reaction. Emotion comes before thought. I have a credential in Emotional Intelligence and the “Amygdala Hijack” is always triggered through the gates of the eye and ear! A light blub turning on is often used, but to cornball. If one uses the statistics that the chemical cocktail lasts some 4 hours once the hijack starts, it would be great to keep showing the person who is “out of whack/dysfunctional/whatever” continuing the poor response, lack of productivity and not able to hear “input” of any kind in the work/play/home environment. This can then be shown in the coaching format and how this can be coached through awarness of the hijack and how to prevent it. The Boss is the key player in this recognition. Knowing what triggers the employee and how to prevent it is key. Showing how continual battering verbally/email/etc does not help is amazing. I believe Holy Moments were mentioned which is kind of on this train of thought.
(IDEA)
There is another component here which will be helpful with the onset of the hype around attraction and energy. Each of us is made of “wave energy” which simple means we are either projecting Catabolic (negative) or Anabolic (Positive) energy at all times. When we wake up in the morning we all have a “resonating level of energy”. As we go through our day we encounter others who have their own set of stuff going on and that gives of their energy and we each go up and down within the 7 levels of energy that are available to us. In business a worker my be very catabolic and a “pain in the ….” and words like; “….can’t they ever get it right….I just want this day to be over and I want to go home and crash on the couch with a beer and watch the game….” can be heard. On the other hand a very Anabolic Boss would see only possiblity and what is working right and feel like he/she is not actually working at all but at play in their passion. This of course can be reversed and so on. The scenarios are endless. The drama high, the audience can identifying with both types immediate. “….I know someone just like that!….” and so on. I hold a credential in Energy Leadership and I also am a licensee to give the assessment for measuring the energy levels. I am able to educate someone on this new area of coaching and am open to helping if you do decide to go in this direction.
POINT/Opinion:
I am very adamant that the “coaches” who are on the research team be “credentialed” with the ICF. My biggest obstacle as an Executive Business Coach is overcoming the objections of potential clients who have been solicited by those who just go to a non-accreditted coaching school and hang out their sign. We as credentialed coaches need to become very proactive about what the standards and requirements are that go into the making of a professional who has spent houndreds of hours in class in an accreditted coaching school with the ICF, been tested by written and oral examination, must continue our learning hours for CEUs and jump thorugh additional hoops in paper work and work with mentor coaches and continue to coach clientswith thousands of hours of coaching, and run a business in order to “HOLD” a credential. This is what makes a credentialed coach of high value.
That’s my take away from our call yesterday.I do have these two additional credentials which I have found to be a very exciting area to coach clients in on a daily basis. I just love the AHA moments. I have had a client slap himself in the cheek once when for the 10th time I called his awarness level to a Catabolic Hijack and he finally got it and showed that the he got it by slapping himself in the cheek and saying: “….I’m dong it again….why couldn’t I see it before…do I always go here?…Oh My God…do other people know and see that I am doing this all the time?”….Yep….that’s an AHA moment! I just love em!!
Thank you for reading and pondering.
Janice Bastani, PCC, CEIC, CELC
Focus Coaching
Basking Ridge, New Jersey
908-696-9047
Hi, congratulations! Yes, Danusia, surprise, surprise, although I said I’d have to miss the call as I was meant to be at work, I was still feeling less than well on wednesday so called in sick and sat in on the call. I didn’t’ speak live as my brain was (and perhaps still is!) in definite slow-mo mode but I do have some thoughts, questions and ideas…
I love the idea of the gap between how the boss perceives themselves and how they are perceived by those who have to interact with them …
With that in mind, it occurs to me that whils the Boss is be the main subject/protagonist, in a way it’s the other people who seem to me to be the most interesting cast of characters!
So if you plan a kind of before & after makeover/transformation idea, I’d want to see how life changes and improves for all the colleagues, employees, family etc. of the boss as well as what changes for the boss him/herself…
Bringing more humanity into human interaction – and seeing it in action, so to speak.
A question: as well as how to make a safe space to encourage bosses to appear, how to make a safe space for their employees & colleagues to speak up/speak out and ‘complain’ about them without risking getting fired …
Which leads me to do you wish bosses to self-select to appear or would you like them to be nominated by those they work with?
Another thought, I had this idea of making the boss live by their own rules for a while – a bit like wife swap but just make the boss work as an employee under own regime and see how they like it! Make them EXPERIENCE their own arseholeness! Then coach them to find out what they think works and what doesn’t; what they’d like to make different and how they’ll do it etc. Then show the workplace again when the new working practices are in place.
How about focusing on say 8 Bad Boss Behaviours – like the 7 Deadly Sins of bosses (except there needs to be eight!) – or maybe focus on the end point and make it 8 great boss behaviours and seek out bosses who aren’t there yet and show the journey to get them there
like 10 Commandments of Guiding Principles of good bosses perhaps? Visually I thought of those inserts in silent movies where they flash up the written text to tell you what’s going on – that could be for the sin and/or the virtue bit – maybe with a powerful voice-over alongside it.
ALso, if you want to keep people engaged, it would be great to show that even those who are not yet the boss can learn something for when they are the boss (if that who/what they want to be) – have an aspirational element.
Oh yeah, I just remembered this bit too – final thought, I applaud you for steering clear of humiliation & exploitation – and yet at hte same time managing to convince le Cowell that it will be entertaining! So yep, I’m curious along with others, apart from your naturally powerful presence, what was the magic formula??
One element of audience participation springs to mind – and also keeping them in thru the whole series, have a voting scheme – but NOT to vote people off. Instead get them to rate which boss has shown the greatest transformation – or created most improved working environment etc. And get them vote online on the program’s accompanying website so you dont’ need to hire a phone company to do it.
Think that’s all for now. gotta go choc dip some almonds …
Good luck!
best wishes
Annie