Despite fears in Hollywood about a looming industry contraction, Rock the Bells interim CEO Thai Randolph sees opportunity for those who choose to think expansively around inclusion.
During the “What It Takes to Innovate: Insights From Female Leaders” panel at TheWrap’s 2024 Power Women Summit on Tuesday, Randolph noted that by 2040, the majority of U.S. citizens will be identified as people of color. She added that women also make up half the population and are influencing around 80% of buying decisions.
“Ultimately, if you want to future-proof your business, this is where you will have to invest. And I think sometimes that’s why we see so much backlash and so much protection,” she told the audience at the Maybourne Beverly Hills. “I think that folks are very afraid of losing power.”
“If you think about how long those statistics have not been as they are, if you think about how much time and effort it takes to move the chains even a little bit when it comes to gender inclusion or racial and ethnic inclusion, representation around sexual orientation, it is hard work. It takes a long time, but often, once those chains move, things are forever changed. So I think what we’re seeing and experiencing today is just a fear-based response and a protection of power,” Randolph continued. “But ultimately, these new generations have very different ideals. They’re both value- and values-based. And if you look at what they prioritize, they will hold corporations to account. And so it’s just good business to wake up and pay attention.”
Randolph emphasized in the panel presented by Loeb & Loeb that it’s equally important to think expansively from an innovation perspective.
“In a town of artists, we’re now all being asked to become scientists, where we’re going to have to test and learn and iterate and interact — what has been working isn’t working anymore,” she said. “You guys are hyper qualified now to be the ones to bring new ideas to the table and to do things your way, because the town is desperate for new ideas and new ways of doing things right now.”
Wondery CEO Jen Sargent agreed with Randolph, noting that moments of adversity are the “ripest times for innovation.” She cited the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as the most recent challenging period where businesses were forced to innovate.
“We got talent into podcasting that would have never bothered with podcasting, except that TV and film were halted. So they found their way into podcasting because they were bored, and they turned their closet into a recording studio and used Zoom to create a video podcast. It was like this incredible time,” Sargent said. “I couldn’t have forced that type of innovation to happen unless we had a global pandemic.”
“So I guess for individuals, I would think about your broader skill set and what you love and how you can combine those things to find a gap in the market. What are you undeniably good at, or what is your company undeniably good at and what are the adjacencies to that? But what are those pockets of white space where, I’m good at this and now I’m just going to pivot a little to the right or left, and I can innovate and start trying and testing,” she added. “I think that’s what happens during these down times and it’s just kind of allowing yourself that space to try.”
Yahoo Chief Diversity and Culture Officer Alicin Reidy Williamson also noted that it’s important to take advantage of the disruption going on in the industry right now.
“As there’s this lull, there’s also this opportunity to shake it up and not have it be the same when it sort of picks up again and that’s this opportunity here that you can bring,” she said.
When asked about the specific skills it takes to be an innovator, Randolph said it’s about getting a diversity of opinions and perspectives from different stakeholders that reflect whatever market you’re trying to serve, as well as trusting your instincts.
“As women, so often, we’ve been socialized not to trust our guts, but because we influence 80% of consumer spending and 85% of cultural trends, there is just an inherent wealth of knowledge and innovative ideas that sit within us and we already market,” she explained. “So to leverage that insight and all of that experience to bring new ideas to the table, I think is super important.”
Sargent added that it’s about finding a new idea and making a service or product better and ultimately taking risks.
“If you look at products and great inventions, whether it’s something in the health track or just things like a light bulb, etc., you’ll find that at least 50% of them were either by accident or they were striving for one thing, they ended up with something else, and you got a great innovation out of it,” she shared. “So limiting yourself to exactly what you know and exactly what you think is going to be right and be successful really cuts off innovation.”
Williamson also pointed out that it’s about having the ability to reimagine.
“It’s actually hard. We are operating with the things that are presented to us,” she said. “The way that I think about it is, ‘What if we just wiped that away and started from a different perspective or different understanding?’ And I think that actually has the opportunity to allow us to just then push through a lot of the things that hold us back, the things that keep so many of us from thriving.”
In addition to reimagining, Randolph said it’s important to reframe problems as possibilities.
“Whatever you’re given, look at it, think about it from the other side,” she said. “Most of the big leaps have been from those real problem areas where I’ve hit a wall on a business strategy, I’ve hit a wall from a career perspective, and on the other side of that problem was a possibility that I probably hadn’t imagined initially.”
The trio also shared their insights regarding salary negotiation and raising capital for your business.
“Those are inherently tough ones, regardless of your gender or race, because you’re playing a game of odds, even when you’re hyper qualified, even when you have all the proof,” Randolph said. “You have to have thick skin for that regardless and be really rooted in competency, in my experience.”
She emphasized that when it comes to compensation, it’s important to “know what the market will bear” and to communicate in “value exchange” rather than needs.
“Just because I want something doesn’t mean someone should give it to me. If you say, ‘I want this,’ well, I want lots of things too. But when there is a real value exchange and you are advocating for something that you know is worthwhile, then you have to be persistent and relentless in it,” Randolph explained. “It’s the only way, even when folks would tell you you’re being too forward, you’re being too persistent or too entitled.”
In those negotiations, Sargent agreed that it’s important to figure out exactly what you want and to not be afraid to ask for it.
“I’m always so surprised how people launch into negotiations, launch into fundraising, and they haven’t stopped to figure out what that end result is that they’re looking for. They almost negotiate against themselves or they lose power because they’re wishy-washy about it,” she said. “And that was one of the things I discovered in the fundraising process, that you need to be bold — but what is your desired outcome?”
Williamson ultimately added that it’s important to look both inside and outside your network when necessary.
“We’ve had a number of small, closed door forums with women who are doing incredible things, building businesses. And there have been women in the room who said, ‘But you haven’t asked us for anything,’” she recalled. “We don’t actually only have to ask our friends and that is really, really important in understanding investment and believing that you have something of great value to offer. And that goes to both having a business or having a skill you’re able to contribute to a company or an organization.”
Watch the full panel below:
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