by Ken Coleman
I’ve noticed the same thing about the aspiring musicians I’ve met since moving to Nashville. They are always performing. Always. They play in half-empty clubs, in airports, in coffee shops, wherever they can get a paid gig. The question is, Why? They do this because they know even the most talented musicians don’t walk into a record label and sign a contract. Musicians and comedians know the importance of stepping in front of a live audience to put all that practice and talent to the test. In fact, their future in entertainment depends on it.
Comedians and musicians know that more can be gained from one hour on stage than five in the studio. A live audience isn’t always accepting or forgiving. When these performers are in the middle of a song or set, they can feel how the crowd is responding in real time. They learn to watch for cues and adjust their material to keep the audience’s attention. Comedians like Pete Holmes, who now has his own HBO show, and musicians like the three-time Grammy Award–nominated band The Avett Brothers spent time in these places before making it big. No matter the field, most successful professionals started small and refined their craft in their place to perform.
EMBRACING THE ENTRY LEVEL
When you’re in your place to perform, it comes with the reality that you’re starting in the minor leagues—you probably won’t be sitting in a corner office, the pay isn’t going to be great, and you’re going to have to work really hard. Beth Comstock, the former chief marketing officer and vice chair for innovation at GE, first worked at a Rubbermaid factory, and she admits that she didn’t think she was cut out for it at first. “I was working with injection molding machines that produced spatulas, beer mugs, and huge trash bins. This wasn’t the I Love Lucy chocolate factory job; it was hot and the pace was intense.”44 That experience shaped her work ethic and determination. In 2015 Comstock was named one of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” by Forbes. In 2017, just a few months before leaving GE, she said her advice to young professionals is to relax a little when it comes to those entry-level positions: “I usually tell them their first job doesn’t determine their life. People often put too much pressure on that first job. Just try things out. Sometimes the seemingly worst assignments can be your best. What are you going to bring to it? What are you going to learn from it?”45
As you get in closer proximity to your dream job, don’t fall into the trap of seeing entry-level work as a necessary evil. Your place to perform should be in your chosen industry, but it doesn’t need to be the exact type of work you want to be doing. Sometimes the job won’t be fun, or the audience won’t be as big as you’d like. That’s when taking Comstock’s advice is your best play. What are you going to bring to it? Give each moment your all and know that all those little moments add up and impact your career. You’re learning from the professionals you work alongside and from the producers who have given you this opportunity. You’re being paid to do work you care about, you’re learning and growing, and you’re making a difference to your employer’s bottom line—these are the characteristics of entry-level work that should be celebrated. The value you bring isn’t going to go unnoticed! So embrace these positions in all their powerful potential, because they will push you to the next stage in your climb!
WHAT YOU STAND TO GAIN
Your place to perform might not be ideal, but it should always be in the field you want to be in with people doing what you want to do. This is where you’ll learn what it means to be a professional. You’ve simply got to show up, give it 100 percent, and add value to the people you work with and the place you work for. When you do, you’ll learn or gain three things to help you on your climb:
1. How to Handle Pressure
2. When to Pivot
3. Confirmation
I believe we’re all created to do specific work in our lives, and the place to perform is where you start actually leaning into what you’re created to do. You’ll learn and grow with real-world experience, and you’ll get confirmation that this is exactly where you need to be.
How to Handle Pressure
Handling pressure is a skill that comes with time and experience. Sometimes the ability to perform under pressure is what separates the practicers from the performers. Athletes, in particular, get a lot of attention for high-pressure performance. Runners will tell you that there is a big difference between training and an actual race where you can feel people watching on the sidelines and the other runners at your heels. And Olympic athletes carry an intense amount of pressure when they compete. Learning to deal with it is even part of their training. Look at Gabby Douglas, for instance. She was part of the 2016 Summer Olympics girls’ gymnastics team and has not one, but three gold medals. When asked how she handles pressure, Douglas answered, “For the most part, I’m kind of used to it, because it has been a part of me for my whole life. I’m trained to deal under those circumstances.” For Douglas, that training looked like “pressure sets,” where a gymnast pretends she is in competition and doesn’t let anything slide.46
The place to perform is where you start actually leaning into what you’re created to do.
And then there’s Michael Phelps, who has won more gold medals than any other Olympic athlete ever—twenty-three to be exact. He explained that part of dealing with pressure is training for it: “I think to perform under pressure, obviously, you have to prepare. . . . Also I think you really just have to be focused. You know, in a big spot when the lights are turned on, there are so many people who get distracted from ‘x-y-z’ and they’re not focused on exactly what they want to do and what they’re trying to accomplish.”47
The first time I sat down to do my very own radio show and that microphone went hot, it was no longer practice time. It was my first broadcasting situation, and the pressure was on to perform. Producers at the station had advertising to sell, and they expected me to put on a good show. It was live radio with real people listening. Up to this point, I had done sports play-by-play, volunteered at a radio station, and sat behind the mic before, but this was different because it was my very own show: The Ken Coleman Show. The amount of pressure I was experiencing now was much different from what I had experienced before. It was clear to me that I had reached a different place in my climb up the mountain. And while I was so excited to have made it this far, the stakes were much higher from this vantage point.
When to Pivot
There’s little room for error on live radio. Calls can take unpredictable turns quickly, and I had to learn when to pivot. Discerning when to transition to another topic when things weren’t going well and managing problems in the middle of an interview are not things you can practice in advance. It’s on-the-job training at its best. And while you may never have to manage this on air, you will most certainly have to do this in your place to perform. It’s a problem-solving skill that’s absolutely critical as you climb your mountain.
Knowing when to pivot is a problem-solving skill that’s absolutely critical.
Brian’s place to perform was on Broadway. But not in the way you might guess. He worked as a theatrical sound engineer and he called our show one day to talk about how he learned the art of pivoting. Brian had gotten a job at a prominent theater in Philadelphia. But despite all of the practice he’d had (even in dress rehearsals), he couldn’t truly prepare himself for the real, live performance of opening night. He learned more that first night about the nuances of prepping the soundboards and adjusting the microphones on the fly than he ever had in rehearsals. He was forced to troubleshoot problems very quickly, pushing and pulling faders to balance the sound and making sure each sound had its own space. This ability to pivot quickly gave Brian a skill set that made him valuable to the theater and that could separate him from other engineers.
Confirmation
If anyone ever found some of the early tapes from The Ken Coleman Show, I would be pretty embarrassed at how unpolished they sound. But I also think back fondly to that time of my career. I was working my tail off, doing a ton of preparation for each week,
and loving every minute of it! Sure, I felt nervous about being live and the pressure of coming up with the program. But I also felt the exhilaration of performing as soon as the mic turned on and a ton of satisfaction when each show was done. That little one-hour show on Saturdays confirmed that I was in exactly the right field because there was no amount of hard work that could discourage me from it. Did I want to do a one-hour local radio show for the rest of my career? No! I wanted to climb higher! The podcast of the show was growing, and feedback was coming in from the station and listeners. All of this only added to my desire to press on toward my goal of having a national show and making a career out of broadcasting.
And the same will be true for you. The gains you’ll see while you are working in your place to perform will push and drive you to climb faster and harder up the mountain. You will learn how to handle high-pressure situations, you’ll learn how and when to pivot using problem-solving techniques, and you’ll get the confirmation you need to know you are pursuing the right dream!
FINDING YOUR PLACE TO PERFORM
In order to find places to perform, think about where you’ve been learning and practicing. Who might benefit from all the knowledge you’ve gained and skills you’ve sharpened? Keep your eyes open for producers who are maxed out, overworked, or in need of extra help. How might you step in to add value to their business or operation?
For example, Katie, a woman who called into the show one day, wanted to transition from her publicity role to an events management career. She began to do some research and started learning the skills she’d need for a job. Then a local nonprofit announced they needed volunteers for their big, annual fundraiser. Katie jumped at this opportunity. While she was working at the event, the event coordinator said that she’d taken an in-house, paid position with the nonprofit. The problem was, they didn’t know how to handle the soon-to-be vacant event coordinator spot. Katie happily offered to step into that entry-level position to help ease the transition on a temporary basis. That pleased the producer and allowed Katie the chance to perform—even if not yet in a paid role.
A place to perform is a vital step toward getting that job you’ve dreamed about. It’s the space where you really begin to grasp the attitude, effort, and aptitude to turn pro. And it’s the place you finally get to put your skill set to work and move closer to the summit. Then, once you’ve embraced what it means to perform well in your field, you’ll be ready for the final and most exciting stage of your journey: finding a place to grow.
The Proximity Process
1. Research local and national entry-level opportunities in your field.
2. Determine which of those opportunities are a “yes” to the following questions:
Will it give you real and relevant experience in the field you want to be in?
Does it offer the chance for you to win under pressure?
Will you be able to add value to the producers in the company or organization?
Chapter 11
A Place to Grow
Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.
—Benjamin Franklin
J. D. Henigman started working for a medical distribution company shortly after graduating high school. But after several years working in the warehousing and logistics field, it was clear that there was not room to grow there. So he left. Henigman wasn’t going to let the absence of opportunity stop him on his way to the top so he took a position at Graybar, a company that focuses on employee growth.48 Several years and promotions later, Henigman serves as the branch manager at the Evansville, Indiana, location. He’s in charge of recruiting and hiring, and for him that includes helping his team grow in their careers: “When you’re recruiting and hiring, some things are negotiable—like salary and benefits, but when you can present an environment that centers both on organizational success and individual success, you wind up with a winning formula.”49 J. D. Henigman understands how important it is for companies to offer their employees opportunities to grow, and now he is doing exactly what led him to his company in the first place: making sure everyone finds a role that is a good fit for them and helping them grow in it.
IT’S GROW TIME
At this stage in your climb, all of the elements of The Proximity Principle will start coming together. But finding a place to grow will take some time, intention, and discernment. Look for places where there are clear opportunities for you to develop and maximize all of your strengths and talents for the organization. That’s how you’ll begin to advance your career. And you should be open to changing zip codes in this phase. Now’s the time to seize opportunities you’ve always dreamed about and worked tirelessly to claim!
Where to Grow
Caitlin always knew that she wanted to be an in-house editor. She loved books and had a passion for working with talented writers. In order to get there, she started out in an entry-level position with a small publisher. She worked her way up through the stages of learning and practicing until she was performing as the managing editor at a small fiction publisher. Caitlin understood that getting in proximity to her dream job might require a move to a larger publishing house, but she was willing to do that if she found the right place. She began turning over rocks and found an opening at an international publishing house in New York City. The opportunity sounded good, but before she was willing to make the move, she needed to do some research. It was time to dig in.
As she learned more about the company, Caitlin discovered that their core mission and values aligned with her own. Second, she believed in the quality of authors they signed and the way the company treated them. And finally, she was impressed with the vision and talent of the people she’d be working with at the company and the way the company took care of their employees. In fact, many of the people at the publishing house were considered the best in the business. This got her excited! Based on that knowledge, she knew she’d be ready to make the move to New York City if she got the job.
During the interview process, Caitlin met with the publisher and CEO of the organization. She felt challenged and supported when they talked through her career goal of working in book acquisitions. If she excelled in the editorial role, there would be a clear path forward leading her to the long-term role that she wanted. The opportunity for growth was there, and she knew exactly what was expected to get in closer proximity to her dream job. When Caitlin landed the job, she was completely confident it was the right move for her to grow in her career.
THREE MUST-HAVES IN A PLACE TO GROW
Caitlin saw three key elements at the New York publishing house that we should all look for in our own place to grow:
1. Alignment of Values
2. A Healthy Challenge
3. A Clear Path Forward
No matter what area you want to work in or how big or small the company, you should look for a place that shares your same values, provides a healthy challenge, and offers a clear path forward. These three things will keep you motivated in your place to grow and will advance your career and push you higher up your mountain.
Alignment of Values
If you find a company you’re interested in, do your homework. Take the time to carefully investigate their core mission. These days most companies are transparent and clear with their mission statement and values—often they even list these things on their website. Do some discovery and ask yourself this question: Do my personal values line up with the company’s core mission? If there’s tension between what you stand for and what the company values, beware. You want to do work that matters and gives you joy. If you’re working for a company that has a core mission you don’t believe in, you won’t be happy for long, even if the role you’re in gets you closer to your dream job. It’s hard to grow professionally when you’re personally conflicted. If the culture of a place is unhealthy, you might start thinking you should be doing something else, when, in reality, you are doing the right work, just in the wrong place.
In this case, you simply need to change places, not careers. But when you find a place where your core values align with your employer’s, that will give you the foundation to truly grow as a professional.
It’s hard to grow professionally when you’re personally conflicted.
Shannon is a great example of how important the alignment of values can be for your growth. Shannon was passionate about helping nonprofit organizations. Her dream was to run a marketing firm that focused on supporting nonprofits and charities. She found her place to perform as the marketing manager at a local advertising firm, which gave her actual experience in working on campaigns for car dealerships, law firms, and commercial real estate. While this gave Shannon the confirmation she needed to know she was in the right industry, the work just wasn’t fulfilling. She longed to use her marketing skills to serve her community and impact the lives of people in need. After a good deal of interviewing and searching for the right situation, she accepted a position at a prominent marketing firm that served food banks, homeless shelters, and international missions. Six years later Shannon became the CEO of that marketing firm! Because their core mission aligned with Shannon’s own core mission, she was passionate about the work she was doing which accelerated her professional growth. When you’re passionate about your job because you believe in what you’re doing, you’ll care more and you’ll put more into it. The results will matter to you, so you’ll strive for excellence. In turn, you’ll find yourself on the fast-track to career growth in a place that aligns with your values. And that’s a great place to be!