On Calculated Risks and Other Lessons
Randy Brown, B.B.A.'84 started as an intern, conducting market research to measure consumer demand for Pro Am Sports (PASS) among Fetzer Cablevision subscribers. After the internship, he was hooked and never left the cable television industry. All told, he spent two years at PASS, fourteen at ESPN, six at the Tennis Channel, and the last two at the Outdoor Channel, where he currently holds the position of senior vice president of Affiliate Sales and Marketing. Brown notes, “The cable industry was such a high growth business when I graduated, and a lot of what we were doing in the early days of PASS and ESPN involved trying things that had not been done before. My business coursework at Western gave me a great foundation for taking calculated risks.”
Brown recalls the teachings of Dr. Ed Mayo and his ability to impart an appreciation for how external influences affect business planning, “That’s a big part of my world today: determining the best strategy in the context of changing social, political, competitive, economic and technical factors outside our control. Ed taught with passion and dedication and every student of his felt important. He has mentored me throughout my career and remains a close friend.”
Another mentor for Brown was his first ESPN boss, George Bodenheimer, who is now president of both ESPN and ABC Sports. Brown remembers, “He’d like to say, ‘There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Don’t cross it.’” Despite Bodenheimer’s considerable success, Brown notes that he can truly say, “I have never seen him cross that line,” adding, “He is among the most genuine and humble executives I know. The fees he’s paid for corporate speaking engagements are all donated to charity.”
Brown has had myriad experiences throughout his career, but one of the early ones has stuck with him for a couple of reasons, “In 1987 a small cable operator in Kansas dropped ESPN in response to a 30 percent price increase! My job was to drive into a handful of small, rural farming communities and organize a petition drive to get ESPN reinstated. I’d hang out at the local bar and get the town folk agitated to call and complain. It worked, and I learned a lot about the power of grass roots marketing and taking your message directly to the people.” In fact, one of those towns was Holcomb, Kansas. Brown drove by the house where in 1959 the Clutter family was slain. The slaying was the subject of Truman Capote’s critically acclaimed book, In Cold Blood.
Brown has returned to campus several times to serve as a guest lecturer, something that has become more difficult now that he is based in Los Angeles versus Chicago. He has always found it to be a gratifying experience to be able to interact with today’s Haworth College of Business students, sharing his knowledge and assisting students in establishing a career direction that they may not have thought about previously. “I know students from my generation would be highly impressed if they returned to campus and saw firsthand all the growth and development,” he notes.
When asked how he spends his free time, Brown half-jokes, “Monitoring the activities of a sixteen year old daughter, which requires attention as any parent is aware! Beyond that, I spend time golfing, hiking, gardening and hanging around the kitchen with my wife Tracy who is an exceptional cook.”