In Conversation with Shep Gordon — Supermensch
I had the pleasure of interviewing “supermensch” and artist manager extraordinaire Shep Gordon a short while ago on All Access Radio. Shep’s been a real inspiration throughout my career, and it’s been fascinating to follow his journey over the years — and a real pleasure to a catch up with him for our fireside chat on my podcast.
Shep is truly a visionary Hollywood manager, agent and producer responsible for building some of the biggest careers in entertainment. He’s worked with many incredible artists over the years — including Alice Cooper, whom he continues to manage today after nearly 50 years (!). He’s also the subject of the acclaimed Mike Myers-produced documentary “Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon.”
What I enjoyed most about our conversation was learning more about how he approaches life – how he manages the challenges, successes, failures – the ups and downs in life and career. …
Last week I was honored to join an invite-only gathering of my peers at the 
July 18, 2017,
Do you ever notice how one day can flow into the next, as can the weeks/months/years if you’re not careful? If we’re not mindful, we can get into the drift and ‘check out’ as a slave to a routine and habits we’ve created that may at one time have worked for us but no longer do. As responsible adults who seek to go beyond ‘getting by’ and instead ‘thriving’ in our lives, it makes sense to stop and re-assess what’s working for us and what isn’t periodically. This applies to our own personal health and well being, and that of our business as well. I’ve been running my small business for nearly two decades now.
For many of us here in the US, we’re celebrating our country’s Independence Day this week (on the 4th). A lot of people gloss over the real meaning of the day…how many lost their lives to ensure we have the many freedoms most in this country take for granted, but which are responsible for us being a global leader. I think it’s worth taking a few minutes to pause and reflect on that as we’re spending time with family and friends this week.
Among his many other achievements, Ken Kragen is the legendary organizer behind “We are the World”, with an illustrious career that transcends the music and entertainment industries where he has managed several notable entertainers including Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Olivia Newton-John, The Bee Gees and Burt Reynolds. Ken was a recent guest on my podcast show, All Access Radio, and I thought I’d share some of my favorite parts of our talk. …
First of all, what is a thought leader and why does it matter in the business world?
Many people in my world know that the Beatles are far and away my favorite group of all time; in fact, I’m known as a “Beatle-ologist” given my vast knowledge of far too much trivia having to do with the band. Like so many others, they inspired me to pursue my career in music from a very young age (I can recall being very deliberate about that choice as early as when I was 8 years old as a direct result of the Beatles).