Winning an Oscar doesn’t happen by accident; although apparently announcing the wrong winner can.
Emma Stone deservedly won ‘Best Actress In A Leading Role’ for her portrayal of Mia, an aspiring movie star who moves to LA to follow her dreams in 2016’s ‘La La Land’. She was brilliant in it. She sang, she danced, she stole audience’s hearts the world over. But the character she played was almost a mirror of herself, and the plot was not a huge stretch from her real-life success story.
When Emma Stone was just 15 years old, she delivered a heartfelt Power Point presentation to her parents called “Project Hollywood”. It outlined her dream to become a Hollywood Star and detailed her path to get there. A path that sought their approval for her to move out and be home schooled in Los Angeles while she pursued acting lessons and attended auditions for roles.
They green lit the plan and 13 years later she stood on the industry’s biggest stage with a gold statue in her hand.
Does your station or show have a plan? It undoubtedly has a goal; number 1 in this demo or number 2 in that, but do you have a plan? Emma Stone had a documented plan not just a goal; she methodically built a path from her teenage ambition to a starring role and it worked. The Oscar was just the cherry on the sundae.
Goals are important. Goals keep corporate happy. Goals look pretty on boardroom TV screens. But goals without plans are goals that will only come to fruition with luck alone.
Be like Emma Stone. Emma had a plan and now she has an Oscar. Emma is cool.