“Make this your mental goal: don’t take no for an answer.” Michael Provus on success, relationships, and life
For our first “C Suite Spotlight” series, we had the extreme honor to interview magazine giant, Michael Provus, Chief Revenue Officer of Rolling Stone. In his role, he has pioneered and leads the sales, marketing, and event staff, and is responsible for all revenue generation. Under his leadership, Rolling Stone has had major events for the last six Super Bowls.
You are admired, you’re an inspiration, you have it all, and you make it look effortless. How do you strike work-life balance?
I am fortunate that Gus and Jann [Wenner] are a dynamic father and son team and it’s evident in our meetings with them. Make family your priority. If you have to take that redeye back home to see your daughter’s play, you do it. It’s a small sacrifice for you, but in the long run, they will remember that you were present.
“Life is too short and when you look back, you may regret that you missed out on some of those key moments in your children’s lives.”
What I try to instill in my employees is that they are valuable to me beyond their roles in the company. Their lives are important and often times you play many roles to achieve workplace happiness. Yes, you’re their manager, but sometimes you’re a therapist while other times you’re their role model.
Can you share some tips on how to cultivate it in our own lives?
Surround yourself with people that are inspiring and uplifting. It sounds cliche, but if you surround yourself with positive people you assimilate that environment.
You can’t take your job too seriously. Have fun. Don’t overstress about the minutiae of your job. Every day can quickly become stressful when all you do is focus on your job.
How do you define relationship success? What’s the best advice you have for those that are looking for a relationship?
Finding a person that makes you a better version of yourself is the key to relationship success. They have to make you better in many or all areas of your life. It has to be someone that makes you happy. But, you have to know what makes you happy. Whether that is your family, career, philanthropy, know what is important to you and stick to that as your priority. Too often people try to juggle all these things in hopes to find what it is that makes them happy.
Can you share tips on how to achieve it?
Put yourself out there. We are always behind a device and barely have face-to-face interaction. What’s the first way people communicate now? We text people to set up a phone call. Putting yourself out there means you have to be social.
“Be vulnerable. That sounds cliche, but it means you have to take risk and be prepared for rejection.”
What advice would you offer to those interested in getting in the industry?
Resumes are like dating apps. You’re putting your best face forward and hoping to get picked.
“How do you separate yourself from the sea of people that are just like you? How do you stand out?”
I don’t want to see a lengthy resume. Limit it to one page. Show people more than just your GPA. I want to see your work ethic. My work history to this day still includes when I worked in a shoe store. If you’re trying to get hired, we want to see your personality.
Can you share tips on how to really get into the industry?
It’s the same as my relationship advice: put yourself out there. The more connections you make the more you maximize your chances of getting that internship or job you want. You really do need to know someone in this business.
“Make this your mental goal: don’t take no for an answer.”
Meet for coffee, send Linkedin messages, attend industry events, reach out and follow-up with a face-to-face meeting.
What advice would you offer your younger self?
You have to love what you do. Success is not just financial, it’s emotional, it’s relationships or the impact you have. You have to define it for yourself. Giving back to the community is a measure of success. That can be in charity work, helping fundraise, or helping someone you know. If you can improve someone’s life, that is a success for both of you.
