What We’re Listening to: “Breaking Schemas”
It’s always nice to hear industry leaders reflect on their careers. This week, we caught an episode of “Breaking Schemas” with Gary Schanman, DISH TV and Sling TV EVP, Group President Video Services. The podcast features University of Michigan Ross School of Business professors chatting with business leaders, and particularly Ross alums like Schanman.
Before getting his MBA, Schanman earned his Bachelor of Finance and Advertising from Syracuse University, where he currently sits on the Newhouse School Advisory Board. He began his career in the advertising world, starting at Young & Rubicam as an account coordinator.
“I learned a couple of things. One is success is showing up. You want to do well? Show up, be reliable, be somebody who’s interested and curious. And if you show up, they’ll give you more and more,” Schanman said. “I also learned that in most cases, you’re good enough. Imposter syndrome could be a driver, but also a destructive force, so try to have confidence that you’re there for a reason and play the role that you’re able to play. From there, get your knowledge base, and then you can get more leadership skills over time.”
He ended up going to business school because when contemplating what was next, he knew he didn’t want to be his “boss’ boss’ boss.” With an interest in media and entertainment, he took a role as a consultant for PwC and eventually ended up building a career in content distribution for cable and satellite, having also worked for Comcast and Charter over the years. Though he initially thought he wanted to work for the “flashy” content companies, like Viacom or Disney. Instead, he got hired by Cablevision and quickly realized the importance of distribution and that he was good at it.
“I also got great opportunities. Cablevision was entrepreneurially driven, family-owned, and there’s pros and cons of working at a proprietorship that way. But for me, it was mostly upside because it was a bold company,” Schanman said. “I was actually put in charge of an internal startup when I was there to actually build a whole interactive television platform to be able to monetize it.”
When he thinks about where the media landscape is headed, it’s all about aggregation. “There’s going to be massive consolidation because individual media companies can’t compete because they need scale,” Schanman predicted. “It’s going to be a massive race for re-aggregation, find a single place where I can get everything I want.”
But he warned it will require sharing data (tough because no one wants to give up what they have), re-establishing legacy business partnerships and putting aside ego. “People can just pay one bill eventually and get what they want in one screen. – Amy Maclean