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Christopher Donovan, SVP creative marketing for E! Entertainment and Esquire Network, sat down with PromaxBDA to speak about formation story in an interview discussing the Executive Mentorship program.
PromaxBDA’s Executive Mentorship program allows executives to mentor executives. The program connects highly motivated mid-level professionals with more senior colleagues at different companies so that the mentee can tap into an executive’s professional experience and industry insights.
The Executive Mentorship Program kicks off on the day before The Conference each June, and is one of several professional development programs offered by PromaxBDA for members at different stages of their careers. Promo Pathway helps candidates develop the skills and tools they need to enter the entertainment media marketing industry, while Thrive gives creatives the tools they need to transition into managerial roles.
In the chat, Donovan speaks passionately about storytelling and how he encourages mentees to use it as a tool to standout.
He notes that when a person understands that there are many different stories out there, the key is to understand your own individual story. That is when a person can become really valuable as an asset to an organization.
“Your mission early on in your career is ‘what is your point of view,’” Donovan urges. “What are you good at doing? What fulfills you? Because there are a variety of ways to do things.”
When that happens, Donovan says, “then you have a distinct point of view that you can bring to it that people can call upon, harness and use in certain situations.”
One of the best ways to convey one’s point of view is through their formation story.
“A formation story is good,” Donovan notes, “because ‘it’s how did you get here,’ it’s a platform to say where you want to go… and addresses the audience in an emotional way.”
In the longer conversation shown above, Donovan uses the classic opening words in the first Star Wars film to drive home his point about personal storytelling: “‘A Long Time Ago in A Galaxy Far, Far Away,’ that tells you everything you need to know that you’re about to see with Star Wars,” he says. It sets the stage and prepares you for the world you are about to enter: “It’s the story you tell yourself about yourself.”
A formation story is so important as a leader because, as Donovan says, “if you don’t have a sense about where you came from as the world continues to change, how do you ever chart a course about where you’re going?”
Donovan uses Vice President Joe Biden as an example, a man who had been close to tragedy a few times in his life so he understood his motivation for helping others. He tied that into his career by keeping up with changes in the media landscape, and learning to adapt and engage, especially with “alien sort of media platforms” such as Snapchat and variations of that.
“If you don’t have stories that link who you are, you literally have no direction.”
“If you force yourself to think the best way that you can think,” he says, “then one of the byproducts is that you will become your authentic self.”
“If the media landscape keeps changing and keeps evolving how do you know what to do?” Donovan asks. “Stories for brands are important because they are within and without.”
PromaxBDA’s best-in-class mentorship program matches leaders within its member community with high-potential, mid-level professionals to develop the next generation of leaders in the entertainment industry.
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