The most valuable assets of a 20th-century company were its production equipment. The most valuable assets of a 21st-century institution, whether business or nonbusiness, will be its knowledge, workers, and their productivity.
When I lost my record deal, and my phone wasn't ringing, I realized that I had to reassess who Vesta was and figure out what was going wrong. I knew it wasn't my singing ability. So it had to be that I was expendable because I didn't have the right look.
I was one of the first to read the 'ER' script and the good news is George Clooney still gives me credit for helping to launch his career. I had George Clooney under contract for four years in a row before 'ER' happened. He's one of the few who remembers the people who helped him.
I have been firming up and making changes in my roster for 2001. This needs to be done from now and then, to make sure what you are booking is working, and to keep a balance in your roster that works.
I was modeling with an agency in New York and a manager with the agency introduced himself to me one day and he said he had auditions for someone my age. He asked if I would be interested in doing some.
If I had a formula, I would have launched newcomers every year or maybe, every quarter.
I would rather do three or four small parts every year as opposed to some of the lower-hanging fruit that might get my name above the title.
Many talents hurt themselves by over thinking the business and doing too much which waters every thing down and makes major moves mean less.
A company's employees are its greatest asset and your people are your product
Your money, your singleness, marriage, talent and time, they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
Steve Jobs has a saying that A players hire A players; B players hire C players; and C players hire D players. It doesn't take long to get to Z players. This trickle-down effect causes bozo explosions in companies.
I don't work with fear, and I don't work with actors that are fearful.
All resources are not obvious; great managers find and develop available talent.
In L.A., I was a talent manager for many years. I represented many African-American actors. After a while, I became disheartened over the shortage of roles for African Americans.
Working with any actor is like working with a monkey.
The relationship between talent and management is uneasy, at best.
I have a great team at WME.
Most companies are very quick to hire and slow to fire, when really it should be the other way around.
You win with people, not with talent. So the quality of the people is very important in building your team. I always looked for people with a solid value system. Then I recruited kids from a cross-section of different personalities, talents and styles of play.
When you do casting in Hollywood, it's always the same question: 'Who is available?'
Jerry Weintraub, the producer, might be a pain in the ass, but he really knows how to treat his actors.
You're always going to have a Dez Bryant somewhere in the league, somebody who has to go through some off-the-field problems in order to reach his potential.
Unless you invest in people, you are not going to see growth in the long term, the medium term, and maybe even the short term.
Talent is our No.1 operating priority and our most important asset.
Give me the right people and I don’t much care what organization you give me. Good things will happen. Give me the wrong people and it doesn’t matter what you do with the organization. Bad things will happen.
