M+E Daily

If the last couple months have taught media and entertainment managers anything, it’s that not much has been predictable, and that the entire industry has had to think on its feet and adopt changes that would have been considering risky at the beginning of the year.

For how to handle these unprecedented times, Robyn Benincasa — a best-selling author, team-building motivational speaker, world-champion adventure racer, San Diego firefighter, Guinness World Record endurance kayaker, and 10-plus-time Ironman triathlete — offered several pieces of sage advice May 27 during a keynote presentation at the Hollywood Innovation and Transformation Summit (HITS) Live event.

“The only thing we know for sure is that change is constant right now,” she said during the “Adapt, Overcome, and Win as ONE” keynote address. “It’s how to respond to change that dictates success.”

Her presentation — based on her 2012 “New York Times” best-selling book ““How Winning Works: 8 Essential Leadership Lessons from the Toughest Teams on Earth” — offered ideas on how to transform the mindset of your team in this work-from-home environment, using clips from her past team-based athletic competitions, some resulting in victories, others in last-place finishes.

“Sometimes with big risks come big rewards,” she said. “The secret is finishing as a team.” Treat today’s remote-work challenges with the mindset of a hope for success, instead of a fear of failure, Benincasa said, and focus on what you can do, instead of what you can’t. And go ahead and look at this upending of the status quo as an opportunity, instead of a problem.

“Find a way to completely change the game, or the way that the game is played,” she added. We’re not defined by our setbacks, we’re defined by our comebacks.”

Benincasa put it on media and entertainment managers to look at work-from-home as an opportunity to inspire their workers, and to even laugh when things go sideways. The results of that top-down attitude will pay dividends now and when there’s a return to something resembling normal again, she said. “Embrace the ‘suck,’” she laughed. “Pain is mandatory. Suffering is optional.

“If you want to go fast, go alone,” Benincasa concluded. “If you want to go far, go together. We never achieve great heights by stepping on someone’s back. We achieve great heights by carrying them on our shoulders.”

The May 27 HITS Live event tackled the quickly shifting IT needs of studios, networks and media service providers, along with how M&E vendors are stepping up to meet those needs. The all-live, virtual, global conference allowed for real-time Q&A, one-on-one chats with other attendees, and more.

HITS Live was presented by Microsoft Azure, with sponsorship by RSG Media, Signiant, Tape Ark, Whip Media Group, Zendesk, Eluvio, Sony, Avanade, 5th Kind, Tamr, EIDR and the Trusted Partner Network (TPN). The event is produced by the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) and the Hollywood IT Society (HITS), in association with the Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA) and the Smart Content Council.

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