Episode #18 - How kindness is the most powerful form of leadership

Computers now have primary control of critical vehicle functions. Welcome to the IBM Keep It Simple Technology Podcast, where each episode we discuss technology but in a simple way. We keep the explanations simple, but what we spend our time on is emphasizing what this technology means to you and how you can best utilize this technology for you and your business. Welcome.

Welcome to the IBM Keep It Simple Technology Podcast. I'm your host, Thomas Anglero, once again with another amazing guest. And I emphasize the amazing part with this guest. This is a personal friend who's also world famous. I am— if I could blush with my skin tone, you can't see me blushing, you would see I'm blushing. My friend, her name is Stephanie Rantz, right? Stephanie, did I get your name right?

Rantz is perfect. Yeah, dance with me. There we go.

Stephanie is a former— now I'm going to embarrass her. Now I'm going to lose her as a friend. Stephanie is a former girlfriend of my buddy in college.

Oh my God, I can't believe you said that.

We know each other going way back. Her husband's gonna kill me now. And Stephanie is now— I mean, if you probably— many of you probably already know her name. She's now the founder of Martha's Vineyard Afro-American Film Festival. Stephanie, welcome to the IBM Keep It Simple Technology Podcast.

Thomas, it's so wonderful to hear your voice again after all of this time. I mean, I am just smiling ear to ear. You're bringing back so many memories. I can't believe you Gave a shout out to my first, you know, one of my first loves together. That is insane. Shout out to Lori. And I'm going to correct you on one thing. It is my film festival. It's me and my husband. I'm the co-founder, and it's an Academy Award accredited film festival. Thank you very much.

Wow. I gotta ask you, that's amazing. I mean, that's— how did you do that?

Well, you don't do it. The Academy sort of reaches out to you and asks if you'd like to be considered for accreditation. So of course, we jumped at the chance and said yes and had to go through all this process. And you know, it happened in 2018. So we're incredibly grateful and happy.

You know what, I'm blushing even more.

We're recording.

Steph, what one thing I mean, we're on a podcast. And what people can't see is that, as you said, you're Afro-American. They can't see that. So I want to emphasize that. And, you know, you are incredibly successful. And congratulations from the bottom of my heart and DNA. I know I can't think of a more perfect person from the times of us eating spaghetti together till today.

Dinner is watching The Cosby Show. Totally remember that. It was awesome. Your dorm room. I totally remember that. It was so wonderful.

It was. It was great. I mean, I hold on to those memories. You must have a very interesting perspective. I mean, you represent a lot of the Afro-American stars that define the trends and things that are going around in the world. I mean, here in little Norway, We feel your impact greatly. I mean, how do you see the whole influence of Afro-Americans in the arts, entertainment? How do you know? Just, just, just share your wisdom with everybody, please, as a leader of the head of this Academy Award film, approved film fest. It's incredible. Please.

Listen, first of all, you are bigging me up way too much. Okay. You know, I just do what I love. We started this festival 18 years ago because we saw the need for representation of people of color from a cinematic perspective. You know, the arts has always been my jam. It's what I love. You know, being at Pratt, I thought I wanted to get into fashion and realized I didn't want to do that and just sort of fell in love with film and TV and all of that stuff. And when we started this, you know, we knew we had something because people would send us VHS tapes with like a $10 submission fee, not even knowing who the heck we were, right? We could have been total frauds. And that's how we knew that this is needed and we're supposed to do this, because back in 2002 when we started this, there was hardly any representation of people of color on the screen, big or small. And, you know, I feel that— I'll speak for myself— that this festival is a way for us to give back. It's a way for us to showcase the works of people of color, whether it be documentaries, shorts, or features. And a lot of our filmmakers have gone on to do amazing things and names that you all already know. And it's just a— it's been a great journey. You know, it was 18 years— well, now 19 years for 2021. But it always— it hasn't always been— I didn't come out the park like, bam, we're doing— like, the first year we did this, to be honest, only 10 people came because I picked the wrong month. There was no social media, and it was just a hot mess. And the 10 people included me, Floyd, my parents, and my son Zaire when he was a little kid at the time. So it was not this big thing. We're in this 900-seat theater with 10 people, and my husband would say to me, you know, I was devastated at the time, and he said, you got like 5 minutes to cry. So you could either figure it out or get a job and, you know, do that. And I decided to figure it out. And here we are almost 19 years later, and it's just amazing. You know, I did have corporate jobs in between. It didn't just happen overnight. I had big corporate jobs and that became harder as the festival grew and grew. And my time became, you know, I'm doing festival work at my job and I'm such a Type A person. I wanna succeed in what I do. I had to make that decision to say, you know what, I can do this full time and sustain myself. And it's been the best decision I've ever made. But I think the impact is amazing. What we do is not unique. There's a million film festivals out there. We've just been able to penetrate and break through because we are humble and authentic. And I'm not in this to be a star, to be famous. I'm just doing what I love.

That's amazing. Because I mean, a lot of famous people like you And I'm not blowing smoke. I mean, I love you, you know. Your husband probably wants to kill me now, but I love you, Steph. I always have.

I love you too, Tom. I really do. I can see your face. You're such a great guy.

You like my stuff? Um, you know, a lot of people, when they reach fame, um, and, and they're the CEO of this and all that stuff, um, they lose sight of some of the things that you said. You know, I know.

I'm sorry, I said I don't lose sight. You know, I think you have to stay humble, but I do believe you are who you were before you got there, right? So if you were an asshole before you got to where you wanted to get, you're just going to be a bigger asshole with a bigger platform, right? So this is who I am at my core. I try to be a nice, decent person. You know, money, fame, notoriety, whatever you want to call all that stuff, doesn't change you. You are who you are, and it just magnifies it with a bigger lens. That's all.

And all these famous people that have come to your film festival performed. I mean, I see you on Facebook, um, cheesing and smiling on the carpet with some really famous people. Are they also as humble?

Uh, yeah, most of them are super nice. I think, you know, Martha's Vineyard is the kind of place that you don't have to be on. It's just, you know, when it's— first of all, it takes a journey to get to that damn island. So once you get there, sort of like Wusa and exhale, and there's no paparazzi. Yeah, so you'll be, you know, it's funny story, we were at some ice cream shop or something one year, and Eric Holder, who worked for Obama, was in front, and I was just like, is that Eric Holder? I was like, oh my God, like in a t-shirt and shorts. That's the Vineyard dress code because it's an island, it's beachy, it's wonderful, and people come there and they're just chill and they're just being themselves. So I think when Talent from LA, particularly LA, come to Martha's Vineyard, they immediately realize, oh, I can be myself. I don't have to do that thing. And Floyd and Stephanie are really cool. Like, I don't do the handlers thing. I'm not— I just want to meet you by myself and just vibe with you. So yeah, I would think 95% of them, 98% of them have been incredibly wonderful. Michael B. Jordan last year was a doll. What a wonderful human being. And Bryan Stevenson, like, everybody's just been super nice. Yvonne Orji from HBO, super, super nice person. You know, every— Daphne Reid, Karen Parsons, who's a friend, both of that, like, just really, really nice people. Yes, they're good people. I think we attract what we put out in the universe, so we attract really nice human beings.

Well, I think that's a reflection of you and your husband directly. No, no, I'm being serious. I mean, today, you know, is the time of COVID Yeah, people are stressed out. And leaders, and a lot of leaders around the world listen to this podcast. They're wondering, how can I build a culture in my company, get great people surrounding me and have this dynamic like you're describing? And what you're saying is just be yourself, right?

Culture starts from the top, right? So if you're a great leader and just a genuinely nice human being, you're going to attract that kind of workforce. But if you're like a total dictator asshole type of person, and you're going to create this like an environment of fear. You know, one of the jobs I had, the CEO was such a jerk and he wanted to lead with fear. And I was just like, this I can't. This is not what I do. This is not a fit for me because I can't. Work in this type of environment because that creates that whole backstabby crabs in the barrel, you know, I can't really share with you and no, I'm not going to help you, that type of environment. And I can't work in environments like that. Most successful companies, I feel, have CEOs who are people people and they want to attract and they love you for your differences. They celebrate your differences and they let you do what it is you do to help the company succeed.

And do you see with all the stress going on with COVID and all the changes going on in the world, do you see your formula of success? Are you going to change it at all because of this? Or you just think your stuff is just— you're going to just continue to grow and nothing? Because you have like this, um, anti— the kryptonite to COVID.

And when the world shut down here in March, started to shut down, you know, everybody's thinking, oh, by June it'll be over, you know, we'll be— this is— what is this? And then April came and it was real and we had to postpone our festival. I mean, the pivot was intense because everybody— we didn't have time to really think about this at all. It just sort of happened, you know, everybody had to sort of pivot really quickly. But it's challenging because, you know, I was just telling someone yesterday, we're building the plane and flying it at the same time, just trying to figure out how we do this. You know, we're still going to be doing some events in the fall and we're doing some virtual stuff. But the virtual stuff is interesting because there's so much competition in that digital space. How do you break through? How do you make someone listen to your panel discussion or watch your movie and engage with you when everybody around the world is doing the same thing? I do think we will keep some virtual components from COVID but I, you know, I think film festivals are the kind of activations that require in-person interaction. It's that excitement and that euphoria you get from this filmmaker getting a standing ovation or winning this award and meeting new people. We need that. Like, we're social human beings. The virtual thing, I don't think I can do this forever. It has to be a combination of both.

Steph, you inspire me.

Hey, I'm figuring it out like everybody else, man. Everybody around the world is figuring out how do I make money? How do I pivot? How do I stay relevant? If they're saying they figured it out, they're lying. We're all trying to figure this out, but I just try to keep it positive, keep my eye on the prize, and just press forward because I do believe this will be a memory. It'll be in the rearview window and we're just going to move on. We have to, we have to survive as a country. We have to survive.

So let me keep it simple and wrap up what you're saying for everybody out there. In my own words. It is your attitude as the leader, Steph, that is the reason why you're successful. Your advice to others is to have that same attitude. Even with COVID that has not knocked you down. If anything, you're even more confident.

Well, a little bit, I'm not gonna lie. It did knock me down. You know, but I had to— you give yourself two choices. You can sit in the corner and cry and let fear take over, or you can Dust yourself off and figure it out and pivot and move forward. I chose the latter. That's what I—

Exactly. But the difference is you're real about it, number one. And number two, you're pivoting while a lot of other leaders are not real about it. And/or they choose not to pivot because they're just frozen. Right?

Right. And that's even before COVID to be honest with you. Because if you look at like, I don't want to call out any companies, but like, you know, when Blockbuster came out, it's like, you know, someone in that organization saw this digital phenomenon coming and they just ignored it. And I just think when you see things coming, companies need to be early adapters with change and figure out how they can be part of what's coming ahead, right? So brick and mortar, for all intents and purposes, it's gone. Like we're gonna have to figure out how do we bring people inside our, inside our stores and have them shop online as well. Like it's just an ever-evolving thing because digital is not going anywhere. And the companies that have the foresight to think ahead and hire people who are out-of-the-box thinkers, forget about where you went to school and how many letters behind your name. That doesn't matter. That's not real-world experience at all. You need out-of-the-box thinkers who can think strategically and help guide your company to success in the future. Because we're not going backwards, we're going forward.

Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie, I love you.

You're the best. You know, well, yes. And when we went to school 30 years ago, what we learned is not applicable to the world today. It doesn't even matter. There was no— it doesn't even matter. It's like, I don't care. When I look at people, I don't care where you went. I don't care. I want to know who you are as a person. How do you think? How do you think outside of the box? And what do you do in situations? That's what I care about.

Go, Steph. Listen, Steph, we— ladies and gentlemen, if you want more Steph, Stephanie Rance, please let me know. I will bring her back. Will you come back if I invite you again, Steph?

Oh my God, I feel like our time was too short. I have so many more stories to share. And I love talking with you. This was so much fun. Thank you so much.

Steph, thank you. You know, if it wasn't for your husband wanting to kill me right now, I would be on the next plane to come visit you.

Oh, Benjamin is not even— we do this all the time. He's upstairs. It's all good. I'd love for you to— Do me a favor.

Do me a favor. Go upstairs. Give him a hug for me, please.

I will.

And to everybody listening out there, this is the IBM Keep It Simple Technology Podcast. I'm your host, Thomas Anglero. Stephanie Rance, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to all of you out there, please subscribe. We are on everything— iTunes, Spotify, name it. And thank you for your time. And last words are— Steph, you get the last words, please, one more time.

My motto in life is just do it. Just do it. Just do it.