Almost as soon as Zaslav launched into an uninspired speech sporting sunglasses from his own time at Boston University as a law student, the crowd throughout the commencement ceremony began booing the 63-year-old entertainment executive and they didn’t stop until he stopped talking about 20 minutes later.
“When I was announced as speaker a few weeks ago, one of my friends at BU sent me a text,” Zaslav said in a wave of mockery. “He said, ‘Who would have thought,’ and he was right. Who would have thought that one day I would be here to give advice in your life? I have to admit I was a little nervous.”
Although Zaslav is nervous, he tries to use his time to socialize with the class of 2023 by telling how, after landing a job at a “big, prestigious company” where he was “making good money,” he found the job of writing prospectuses was not only difficult but so deeply unfulfilling that he had to find a way out. In response to Zaslav sharing life advice, people throughout the audience told him to shut up and challenged him to “pay [his] writers” — messages conveyed by picketers showing off the event.
“I need to find something that really interests me – something that I really love,” Zaslav said as someone in the crowd shouted back, “Television is breaking.” “But it’s really scary. I was very worried because I was stuck. I have an apartment, and I have to keep the job until I find another.”
As the WGA crowd’s sympathies became clear, Zaslav changed slightly by recounting an important lesson he learned from his mentor, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, whose ruthless approach to management has become the cause of the company. a legendary profitable disaster. The key to being successful, Welch told Zaslav, is knowing “how to get along with everyone, and that includes difficult people.”
“In my career, I’ve seen so many talented people lose opportunities or jobs because they didn’t get along with others,” Zaslav said. “You can’t choose the people you work with. Know what you want in a person. There is always something, and do what it takes to navigate their challenges. We all have them. The truth is that most of us don’t pay attention to our weaknesses because it’s not good to think about our shortcomings, especially if we all believe that they happen most of the time.”
Disclosure: The Vox Media editorial team, which includes The Vergeis also affiliated with the Writers Guild of America, East.
