Most Important Skills For A Director Content Operations At Global Media Company
Dillan, a Director of Content Operations, emphasizes the critical importance of "attention to detail" and open communication across all departments, even seemingly unrelated ones, to prevent delays and ensure project success. This proactive approach, exemplified by Dillan's efforts to keep everyone informed of relevant details—even if "it's not exactly related to their department"—mitigates potential problems and avoids "disastrous results" in the fast-paced film industry.
Communication, Project Management, Problem-Solving, Teamwork, Attention to Detail
Advizer Information
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Dillan Damodar
Director, Content Operations
Global Media Company
University of California, Irvine
UCLA Anderson School of Management, MBA, Spring 2024
Economics, Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts
Arts, Entertainment & Media
Operations and Project Management
Honors Student, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Transfer Student, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Excellent communication is crucial for coordinating across various teams (marketing, sales, legal, finance, etc.) to avoid delays and ensure everyone has the necessary information.
2. Attention to detail is paramount, as minor oversights can have significant consequences, especially in time-sensitive projects.
3. Proactive information sharing prevents unforeseen issues and streamlines workflows, ultimately leading to more efficient and successful outcomes. Assuming others have information can cause delays; transparency avoids this pitfall.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
The most important skill, I would say, is attention to detail, along with being very open and communicative with all parties, whether they are directly associated or not.
I think the more information that more parties adjacent to the teams you're working with—whether it's marketing, sales, operations, or acquisitions teams—have, the better. I've found it most helpful when all of them are aware of all the details, even if it's not directly related to their department.
This usually speeds things up or closes any potential gaps that might happen further down the road. For example, for a movie we were releasing in only 10 theaters, the filmmakers were very interested in expanding the release. Whenever that happens, there are certain associated fees that legal has to be aware of in order to make an amendment.
Operations needs to be aware so they can build it into their quote, and Finance needs to know for the extra expenses and to secure more financing or funding. There are all these different people involved for just one small decision that seems innocuous, and that the sales team might be privy to since they're the ones talking to the filmmakers first.
I realized operationally, when I hear from the sales team, it's like, "Did you tell this other department?" because they need to know that so they can talk to legal and do the whole thing. Oftentimes, because we're such a small team, those kinds of details get assumed to be known, but that isn't the case.
In my current role, I've made it a priority to ensure that everyone on our team knows every detail that might be relevant to their department down the road. That way, they are prepared and aren't blindsided by an open action item that becomes delayed.
Delays in a marketing campaign for a film can have disastrous results on the final outcome. So, in my industry, that's something I find very important.