Ask forgiveness, not permission
Hey, Nikki here.
Ted Cohen once talked his way through 70,000 people at a Led Zeppelin show in Atlanta. No ticket, no pass, just a plan to find the tour manager. By Monday, the president of Atlantic Records had offered him a job.
That’s the shape his next 50 years took: artist development at Warner and Atlantic for Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Prince, and The Who (to name a few), and then a pivot to digital music in negotiation rooms with EMI, iTunes, Napster, and Rhapsody.
Why this one matters:
For 10 years at Warner, Ted had no budget and no approval process. His boss’s only rule: when it came down to the label or the artist, side with the artist, because it would be right for the label too. Because of this approach, Ted helped some of the biggest artists of the time succeed.
This episode is full of fun stories of some of the biggest artists in the world, but also valuable lessons on how to earn trust with high-level artists and industry executives.
#1 Don’t be a dick
Ted keeps a bar coaster on the table before every negotiation. It says four words: don’t be a dick. He uses it to remind him and everyone in the room that negotiation and business decisions can be done with respect. Even when he didn’t live up to that himself, he owned it and apologized. He once made an insensitive joke about a friend, in front of a room of people. His friend called him out for it. He didn’t push back or explain it away. He apologized and owned the disrespect with a commitment to do better.
Takeaway: Inviting people to call you out means nothing without following through when they do.
Try this: Name one moment you crossed a line with someone, even by accident. Reach out this week and own it, no justification attached.
#2 Know what each person needs from you
Prince never got a single “change this” note from Ted in years of touring. He skipped radio interviews and meet-and-greets for a long time because Prince said the show explained him more than an interview would.
David Lee Roth got one note: talk less on stage. David Byrne got the opposite: coached into saying anything beyond the song title. Chrissie Hynde made a Rolling Stone writer wait outside the bus while she talked to fans, and Ted backed her. Bryan Ferry got that same latitude and burned through it fast.
Takeaway: The same job looks different with every person you support.
Try this: Name one thing two people you support need differently from you, and adjust today.
#3 Ask forgiveness, not permission
Ted calls himself a forgiveness executive, not a permission executive. He decided what an artist needed and explained it after, if asked.
When Westwood One paired Coca-Cola with a Foreigner tour in a Pepsi-exclusive venue, Ted couldn’t hang a banner. So the crew wore Coca-Cola shirts and the stage coolers said Coca-Cola. Coke called it their most successful tour sponsorship yet.
Takeaway: Trust without a rulebook produces work a rulebook never would.
Try this: Take one decision you’d normally escalate. Make the call yourself this week, then tell your boss what you decided.
To be clear: We’re not endorsing reckless decisions or ignoring rules. The takeaway is to trust your judgment when you’ve been given room to make the call.
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If you want the full conversation, watch Ep #70 of The Giggs Podcast with Ted Cohen.
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— Nikki
P.S. One line I loved: “Just act like a human being, and we can do some cool things together.” Ted said it about a business deal, but it works as the summary of everything else in this episode too.
