The Best Advice Ever for Succeeding In Record Time | Michael Ovitz on Impact Theory

The video is an interview with Michael Ovitz, a legendary entrepreneur in the media industry, discussing his success and advice for achieving success in record time.

The video is an interview with Michael Ovitz, a legendary entrepreneur in the media industry. He co-founded CAA, which became the world's most dominant talent agency, representing some of the most enduring names in entertainment. Ovitz helped create some of the most culture-defining movies of the 20th century and was instrumental in brokering mega deals with multinational corporations. He has since introduced his innovative approach to deal making and storytelling to Silicon Valley. In the interview, Ovitz talks about his childhood, growing up in a supportive family, and how he got the bug for the entertainment industry at a young age. He also discusses the importance of studying and working hard and the audacity needed to pursue one's dreams.

• Success comes with making mistakes.
• Michael Crichton's advice: there's always another game.
• Winning was everything for Michael Ovitz.
• Goal of the show and company is to introduce people and ideas to help execute dreams.
• Michael Ovitz is a legendary entrepreneur in the media industry.
• Co-founder of CAA, which became the world's most dominant talent agency in just 10 years.
• Michael Ovitz learned the importance of tenacity, brilliant tactics, and aggressive unbridled enthusiasm for the sport of business.
• Michael Ovitz's early life and drive for advancement, handling bullying and befriending people, and dealing with people in the entertainment business were all important factors in his success.
• Disruption is the key word in the valley where Michael Ovitz works now.

The Best Advice Ever for Succeeding In Record Time | Michael Ovitz on Impact Theory - YouTube

Introduction

• Success comes with making mistakes.
• Michael Crichton's advice: there's always another game.
• Winning was everything for Michael Ovitz.
• Introduction to the interview with Michael Ovitz.
• Goal of the show and company is to introduce people and ideas to help execute dreams.
• Michael Ovitz is a legendary entrepreneur in the media industry.

Michael Ovitz's Success in the Media Industry

• Co-founder of CAA, which became the world's most dominant talent agency in just 10 years.
• Represented some of the most enduring names in entertainment.
• Helped create some of the most culture-defining movies of the 20th century.
• Instrumental in brokering mega deals with multinational corporations.
• Introduced his innovative approach to deal making and storytelling to Silicon Valley.
• Advised many prominent people in the tech world.

Starting from the Bottom

• Michael Ovitz considers himself lucky to be sitting with a fellow entrepreneur.
• For every success story, there are probably 10,000 failures.
• Michael Ovitz grew up in a supportive family and had a good upbringing.
• Studying and working hard were at the foundation of his young life.
• Four blocks from his house was the RKO studios that Howard Hughes owned.
• Michael Ovitz got the bug for the media industry at a young age.

The Best Advice Ever for Succeeding In Record Time | Michael Ovitz on Impact Theory - YouTube

Lessons Learned

• Michael Ovitz learned the importance of tenacity, brilliant tactics, and aggressive unbridled enthusiasm for the sport of business.
• Content is king even outside of Hollywood.
• There's always another game.
• Success comes with making mistakes.
• For every success story, there are probably 10,000 failures.
• Studying and working hard are at the foundation of success.

Early Life and Drive for Advancement

• Michael Ovitz grew up in a non-affluent section of the valley in Los Angeles in the 50s and 60s.
• Money was high on his priority list, but not for the reasons one might think.
• He wanted to advance and put himself in a better place.
• Aggressive activity was very much a part of the way he grew up in his neighborhood.
• There were different kinds of aggression, mostly physical where he grew up.

Handling Bullying and Befriending People

• Michael Ovitz got bullied and decided to befriend the bully instead of fighting him.
• He couldn't beat the bully who was a head bigger than him and couldn't show that he was afraid of him.
• He made a decision that if you can't beat them, you should try to join them.
• He and the bully ended up becoming friends from that very strange beginning.
• He used the strategy of being able to befriend people on any level, whether they were good for him or not, to connect with them.

Customer is Always Right and Dealing with People

• Michael Ovitz started in Hollywood when he was 17 at Universal Studios as a tour guide.
• He learned very quickly that the customer is always right.
• He figured out early that it didn't make a lot of sense to go against the grain, particularly starting out at a low level in the entertainment business.
• He learned very early that it was easier to deal with people in a very specific way, which was just giving since you were trying to take.
• He had to give a lot and a lot of times he'd run into people that were just stressed out of their minds.
• He had to learn when to back off and when to try to get more information.

Conclusion

• Michael Ovitz's early life and drive for advancement, handling bullying and befriending people, and dealing with people in the entertainment business were all important factors in his success.
• He learned early on that being aggressive and trying to make something of yourself was important.
• He also learned that the customer is always right and that dealing with people in a specific way was crucial.
• His experiences and strategies can be applied to anyone looking to succeed in record time.

The Fire Room

• Michael Ovitz accidentally went into the fire room while delivering mail at William Morris Agency (WMA).
• He applied for a job at WMA and wanted to differentiate himself.
• He told the head of human resources that he could do their three-year training program in 10 weeks.
• He got the job and discovered that knowledge was power in that place.
• He figured out that everything was in the central file room, which had no computers and everything was written on paper and filed away for a hundred years of history of that company.

Working Long Hours

• Michael Ovitz became a fixture by working longer hours than everybody else.
• He was recognized by people that he was there.
• Many of the executives were coming in at 7:30 or 8 o'clock in the morning to get the jump on their day.
• In order to meet those people, he had to be there before them.
• He worked long hours to get the information faster than anyone in the 20 person mail room class that he started.

Disrupting the Status Quo

• Disruption is the key word in the valley where Michael Ovitz works now.
• Young people come in and they're brilliant and they want to change the way the status quo is in every single business.
• There's no such thing as a no until you get a yes.
• Michael Ovitz wanted to disrupt the moment when he applied for a job at WMA.
• He differentiated himself by saying that he could do their whole program in 10 weeks.

The Power of Knowledge

• Knowledge was power in WMA, which was a service business dealing with people.
• Michael Ovitz had to know something to move himself through a system.
• He figured out how to get the information faster than anyone and how to apply that information to move himself through a system.
• He discovered that everything was in the central file room, which had no computers and everything was written on paper and filed away for a hundred years of history of that company.
• He got the key to the file room and went in every night when everyone else went home to read and learn everything there was to learn about show business.

How Michael Ovitz Got His Start

• He started as a mailroom clerk at a talent agency.
• He made himself available to help anyone who needed it.
• He discovered the head of the company left the office every night at 6:45 pm to go to dinner with the founder of the company.
• He positioned himself so that the two executives would see him every night when they went out.
• He did small tasks for them, such as xeroxing and getting them fresh squeezed juices.

How Michael Ovitz Became the Assistant to the President of the Agency

• He got the break of breaks when the president's assistant got sick and he was asked to sit at his desk.
• Within 90 days, he became the president's full-time assistant.
• He read every piece of the president's mail and knew what was going on with every client.
• He worked seven days a week and was available to the president 24/7.
• He encouraged the president to call him at any time and went overboard to show that he was reliable.

The Importance of Making Yourself Available

• Michael Ovitz's success was due to making himself available to help anyone who needed it.
• He positioned himself so that he was visible to the executives he wanted to work for.
• He did small tasks for them, which led to bigger opportunities.
• He encouraged the executives to call him at any time and went overboard to show that he was reliable.
• Being available and reliable is key to getting ahead in any industry.

The Power of Small Actions

• Michael Ovitz's success was due to doing small tasks for the executives he wanted to work for.
• He xeroxed material, got fresh squeezed juices, and did other small tasks that made a big impression.
• Small actions can lead to bigger opportunities.
• Small actions can make a big impression and show that you are reliable and willing to go above and beyond.
• Small actions can be the key to getting ahead in any industry.

Watch the video on YouTube:
The Best Advice Ever for Succeeding In Record Time | Michael Ovitz on Impact Theory - YouTube