Panel: Cable Must Adapt to Diversity
NAMIC Conference Opens With ‘Embrace Diversity … Embrace Success’ Theme
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 9/17/2007 6:33:00 AM
New York -- The industry’s corporate leaders will have to learn to be more flexible and more adaptable to a growing diverse marketplace if those companies are going to remain competitive in the 21st century, according to several industry executives speaking Monday at the opening session of NAMIC’s Conference.
With the U.S. Census predicting that by 2050 the nation’s population of Asian, African and Hispanic-Americans will increase by 46%, Comcast Cable executive vice president Dave Cohen said it’s critical for telecommunications companies to hire, mentor and advance people of color within their companies.
Referencing the “embrace diversity … embrace success” message on NAMIC wristbands being handed out to a conference record-setting 700 attendees -- Cohen said that if the industry’s success is predicated on its ability to effectively diversity its workforce.
“As the wisdom of the wristbands suggest, diversity cannot be separate from our business interests … it must be integral to them,” he said. “Leaders have to watch, understand and act in anticipation of those [population] trends.”
Those population trends, along with a very rapid transformation of the business itself toward new media, will force industry leaders to adapt new ways of leading and motivating a new and diverse workforce, according to A&E executive vice president and general manager Bob DeBitetto.
“Leadership has transitioned into more of a facilitator, not so much a top/down, driven leader,” added Peter Firestone, managing director of U.S. Media and Entertainment Consulting for Deloitte Consulting LLP.
Today’s executives also have to be risk takers and willing to listen to and act on ideas that may not necessarily make sense to them but will resonate in a younger, more diverse world. BET president Scott Mills said for example that his initial negative reaction to offering karaoke-based ring tones eventually turned out to be popular among younger consumers.
Added DeBitetto: “If you’re really comfortable with every decision, then you’re headed for disaster. You have to keep the creative development alive and you have to look for things that can breakout.”
The need to go beyond one’s comfort level also applies to hiring people who are different than you, according to Evan Shapiro, executive vice president and general manager for the Independent Film “If you don’t address that issue internally you’ll get left behind,” he added. “We have a long, long way to go …a lot people who are writing the check look a lot like me.”
Diversity has to be a continuing effort that is to be fostered throughout the industry. Even a very diverse company such as MTV has to continue to work at making sure the company is not only practicing diversity through hiring but also through diversity of thought and ideas, according to MTV president Christina Norman.
“People have to remember that you’re going to stumble a lot on this, but you can’t let that discourage or limit what it is that you want to achieve,” she added.
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