LENS ON LEADERSHIP

Not long ago, a friend asked me:

“What exactly are you and Pattie Sellers doing in your post-Fortune lives?” That prompted both of us to recall all too many other times when it was clear that friends or colleagues had only a blurry understanding of SellersEaston Media.

Our fault, of course, and a reminder that as professional storytellers, we need to do less telling and more showing of our multimedia work producing life and leadership stories—from the C-suite to the boardroom to the living room. We’re enormously proud of the films we’ve produced. Gumbo Coalition chronicles the lives of two courageous civil rights leaders (watch it here on MAX); Port of Destiny: Peace (here on Amazon) tells the story of a Nobel Peace Prize winner; and this hour-long biopic captures the epic life and impact of philanthropist Eli Broad.

Our leadership stories take other forms, too. So we’re launching this newsletter to provide a glimpse into some of our latest work. Thank you, dear friends, for being our inaugural audience. Feel free to opine, unsubscribe, or drop a note to Pattie at pattie@sellerseaston.com or me, nina@sellerseaston.com.

HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY SUMMER! -NINA

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LIFE STORY BOOKS

        Just the idea of crafting a memoir to share with family, friends, colleagues, and possibly the public is overwhelming—let alone actually making it happen. So when I opened the acknowledgements page of legendary investor Peter Lynch’s new autobiography, I was so proud to see the accolades for Pattie:

“Pattie is an amazing individual… thorough, patient, creative, upbeat, efficient, great understanding of finance… and fun!”
Pattie spent two years researching, interviewing, and writing Peter’s life story in his words—producing a beautiful 268-page memoir. ”Sharing wisdom and lessons from an impactful life is the most generous thing you can do for family and others who helped along the way,” Pattie says.

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MODERN FAMILY PORTRAIT

The brilliant Michael Apted 7Up movie series inspired us to create the Modern Family Portrait. With a nimble camera crew, we capture a day or two of family life each year—talking with children as dreams get bigger, parents as their own lives evolve, grandparents as they share their personal histories and wisdom. The annual short films we deliver become, over time, a multi-year series—a priceless chronicle of moments, voices, and stories you would never want to miss.

Learn more about the Modern Family Portrait here.

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‍TRUSTED CEO ADVISER

  When I first met Wall Street Journal veteran Eben Shapiro, I was intrigued by a series of insightful CEO interviews, titled The Leadership Brief, that he had created as TIME Deputy Editor. He is now SellersEaston’s Executive Editor and resident CEO Whisperer, working with prominent chief executives to shine as thoughtful leaders on transformative technologies like AI and other emerging issues.

I recently asked Eben: With such sharp yet nuanced interview skills (and down-to-earth charm to boot), what have you learned it takes to be a great leader in this uncertain global economy? “Humanity and inspiring communications distinguish today’s superstar CEOs,” he says.

Eben is right. At the end of the day, what drives great leadership is showing your humanity and never forgetting that people want to be inspired.

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