HD in HD How Adversity Made Him Unstoppable | Barry Diller
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Oct 6, 2025 
Barry Diller, a legendary media executive behind transformations at Paramount and Fox, discusses his unconventional rise in Hollywood. Starting as a wayward teen, he took risks to create the original TV movie format, defying industry norms. Diller emphasizes how adversity shaped his instincts and led to building IAC, while also critiquing Hollywood's reliance on sequels. He shares insights on launching Fox against established giants and his vision for interactive screens long before the internet era.
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Convert Adversity Into Competitive Strengths
- Use adversity as training: convert hardships into unique strengths and social skills.
- Rely on those developed powers rather than trying to teach them to others.
Building The Movie-Of-The-Week Startup
- Barry Diller invented the “Movie of the Week” at ABC and scaled it from 25 to 75 originals per year.
- He learned every role by building the operation from scratch and hiring people to fill gaps.
Learn Management By Doing Every Role
- Learn management by starting a project from zero and doing every role yourself first.
- Hire to fill gaps and let hands-on experience teach you how to run the organization.
