Perfect Pitch: Co-Founder’s Tips on Leading Knowing Your Value
“A belief is not a truth,” says Laverne McKinnon, co-founder of K & L Productions.
Laverne McKinnon loves the underdog. And she also loves to persuade.
A film and tv producer, leadership coach and adjunct professor with two decades of programming experience, McKinnon is all about telling stories of triumph—especially the ones we tell ourselves.
“A film and tv producer, leadership #coach and adjunct professor with two decades of programming experience, McKinnon is all about telling stories of triumph. #GirlBoss ”
“We tell stories that feel possible, not probable,” says the co-founder of K & L Productions in Los Angeles, a film & television company she created in 2017 with Kay Cannon (writer of the “Pitch Perfect” franchise and director of “Blockers.” The company has a first look production deal at Sony Television with multiple projects sold including Amazon, Quibi, NBC, ABC, and TBS.
““We tell stories that feel possible, not probable,” says McKinnon the co-founder of K & L Productions in LA, a film & television company she created in 2017 with @KayKayCannon. #FemaleStories”
McKinnon teaches a course in “The Power of Pitching + Persuasion” at Northwestern University’s Master of Science in Leadership for Creative Enterprises program, traveling to Chicago five times a year for the course.
Teaching at NU since 2009, she obviously pitches successfully as she was recently Executive Producer of the Netflix series “Girlboss,” beginning in 2014, following her role as head of television at Charlize Theron’s production company, Denver and Delilah, where she began working in 2011. Prior to that, she was executive vice president of original programming and development at EPIX from 2009-2011.
Read more in Take The Lead on gender inequities in TV, film
Growing up in Darien, Il., McKinnon says her older sister taught her to read even before she started school.
“I grew up loving stories,” says McKinnon, who during high school also studied at The Goodman Theater, thinking she would pursue a career in acting.
The first of her family to attend college, McKinnon went to Northwestern University, where she graduated in 1987 with a major in Radio, TV & Film, and where she fell in love with the production aspect of telling stories.
Her first job was at GTR Productions, producing educational films. In 1991 she moved to Los Angeles, working for Klasky Csupo, an animation company that produced “Rugrats” and “Little Monsters.” In 1996, she went to CBS, where she stayed for 10 years.
Promoted regularly and often at CBS, McKinnon became Senior Vice-President of Drama Development, where she developed the “CSI” franchise. She also says she was fired. Working so hard, she lost sight of her own purpose and values of transparency, honesty and straightforwardness.
“I was devastated,” McKinnon says. “My identity was so wrapped up in this job and I so deeply cared for these people that my grief was so deep. I felt like something was wrong with me,” she says. “It took me years to get past that.”
Knowing that these necessary transitions can bring about transformation has helped McKinnon not just in her own extremely successful career but in her coaching.
“Knowing that these necessary transitions can bring about #transformation has helped McKinnon not just in her own extremely successful career but in her #coaching. #LifeAdvice”
“The majority of people I encounter are experiencing that on some level, a feeling of helplessness, and powerlessness,” McKinnon says.
““The majority of people I encounter are experiencing that on some level, a feeling of helplessness, and powerlessness,” McKinnon says. #Burnout #Coaching”
Having witnessed—but not personally been victimized—by the episodes, patterns and causes of the #MeToo movement in the entertainment industry, McKinnon led the pilot program for the Time's Up Workshop, a leadership training program for Asian Americans and Pacific Islander women in the entertainment industry.
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In her workshops and leadership consulting, McKinnon offers advice to anyone wanting to change direction and align work and leadership with their values. “A lot of my clients feel overwhelmed and burned out,” she says. McKinnon suggests these steps that she says “are simple, not easy.”
“In her workshops and leadership #consulting, McKinnon offers #advice to anyone wanting to change direction and align work and #leadership with their values. ”
1. “Do a personal audit of how you are spending your time, how you interact with people.”
“McKinnon, a #leadership coach says, “Do a personal audit of how you are spending your time, how you interact with people.” #CareerAdvice #Coaching”
2. “Strategize to align that time spent with your core values.”
3. “We all have saboteur voices whose job is to keep us small. Know that when they are at their loudest it means you are going out of your comfort zone, so have the courage to keep going.”
4. “Take one small action to build your confidence.”
5. “The biggest mistake is to mistake a belief for a truth.”
“Advice from leadership coach Laverne McKinnon: “The biggest mistake is to mistake a belief for a truth.” #TTL #FemaleLeadership #Coaching”
6. “We all need allies and advocates.”
7. “Recognize conscious and unconscious bias.”
8. “We are all leaders with different flavors of leadership.”
““We are all leaders with different flavors of leadership,” says Laverne McKinnon. #WomenInTV #WomensLeadership ”
Set up for a successful future at K & L, McKinnon says the work is about the content on the screen with underrepresented voices harnessing the power of story.
Read more in Take The Lead on female filmmakers
Her biggest life advice of all is simple. “This is not about what the world can give to me, it’s about what I can do to make the world a better place.”
“McKinnon’s biggest #LifeAdvice of all is simple. “This is not about what the world can give to me, it’s about what I can do to make the world a better place.” #Gratitude #GiveBack”
