• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Wisdom From Wrestling Royalty and Other Lessons From Brainstorm Tech

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 25, 2017, 10:01 AM ET

Reverbs from last week’s Fortune Brainstorm Tech keep popping up. Going through notes from last week’s confab in Aspen, Colo., here are a few more lessons worth noting.

1: If you want to succeed in TV programming, hire Elisabeth Moss

This lesson came from Charlie Collier, president of both AMC and Sundance TV, and Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins. Moss—in case you’re not a fan of high-quality television—portrayed the long-suffering Peggy Olson in AMC’s hugely successful Mad Men series and more recently anchored Hulu’s breakthrough hit The Handmaid’s Tale.

Going back a few years, Moss also played Zoey Bartlet, daughter of President Josiah Bartlett (Martin Sheen) in NBC’s (NBC) The West Wing. She also got rave reviews for Sundance TV’s Top of the Lake crime series, directed by Jane Campion. Season two kicks off later this month.

Related: How Media Execs Navigate Changing Landscape

2: Learn from professional wrestlers

The WWE’s Pro-wrestling events may be fake, but they compress drama and conflicts between good and evil acted out by heroes and villains into a story line that plays out in the ring in a set amount of time. That has real appeal, said Stephanie McMahon, chief brand officer for WWE. She and her husband, WWE executive vice president Paul Levesque, otherwise known by his wrestling moniker Triple H, also talked about the WWE’s ability to pivot, as evidenced by its jettisoning the term “diva” when it was no longer appropriate to women’s wrestling.

When reminded on stage that he married into an interesting family—his in-laws are Vince McMahon, the flamboyant CEO of WWE and Linda McMahon—the equally colorful former CEO, who now leads the U.S. Small Business Administration, Levesque shook his head, noting: “You don’t know the half of it.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

3: Don’t sweat cannibalization

The notion for a chewable ice maker option for freezers had been floated by the R&D unit at GE (GE) Appliances for a decade. But concerns that adding the option might hurt sales of existing freezers and confuse the sales channel meant it didn’t get traction, said Slava Rubin, co-founder and chief business officer of crowdfunding site Indiegogo.

Rubin knows this because GE decided, instead of making new freezers with the unit built-in, to first validate the idea by putting a standalone “chewable ice maker” on Indiegogo. The resulting Opal standalone ice maker raised nearly $2.8 million on the site, and GE Appliances now plans to offer chewable ice as an option in some freezer models going forward.

Related; Five Takeaways From Brainstorm Tech

4: Learn but don’t shrink from failure

Two years ago, Microsoft released its Tay chatbot in the U.S. only to find that the bot, which had done well in Asia, was quickly trained by users to make racist and sexist comments. It was a PR nightmare. But instead of slamming the Tay team, Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella encouraged them to keep working, said Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development for Microsoft.

Tay morphed into Zo, another chat bot that learns more about you via conversing—although presumably not about hate speech. Johnson said she converses with Zo quite often. “She’s my friend,” Johnson said.

5: Be self-aware

Members of a roundtable discussion on how to avoid toxic work environments, was chewing over recent sexual harassment scandals in the tech industry when one panelist stunned the room into silence by noting: “I thought this was supposed to be about diversity. Why are we talking about women?”

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

‘Downward mobility is incredibly radicalizing’: The college bargain is broken. What comes next could reshape America
EconomyColleges and Universities
‘Downward mobility is incredibly radicalizing’: The college bargain is broken. What comes next could reshape America
By Nick LichtenbergApril 10, 2026
2 hours ago
Who’s really in control as AI and Big Tech race ahead?
MagazineEurope
Who’s really in control as AI and Big Tech race ahead?
By Francesca CassidyApril 10, 2026
4 hours ago
Photo: Donald Trump
EconomyMarkets
U.S. and Iran begin peace talks as Trump’s White House goes to war against the media, insider traders, and the Pope
By Jim EdwardsApril 10, 2026
5 hours ago
Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2019 in Aspen, Colo. (Photo: Fortune)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Who’s speaking at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026
By Andrew NuscaApril 10, 2026
6 hours ago
Schools across America are quietly admitting that screens in classrooms made students worse off and are reversing years of tech-first policies
InnovationEducation
Schools across America are quietly admitting that screens in classrooms made students worse off and are reversing years of tech-first policies
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezApril 10, 2026
7 hours ago
Dario Amodei
NewslettersTerm Sheet
What Anthropic’s too-dangerous-to-release AI model means for its upcoming IPO
By Beatrice NolanApril 10, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

The U.S. government is spending $88 billion a month in interest on national debt—equal to spending on defense and education combined
Economy
The U.S. government is spending $88 billion a month in interest on national debt—equal to spending on defense and education combined
By Fortune EditorsApril 9, 2026
1 day ago
A Meta employee created a dashboard so coworkers can compete to be the company's No. 1 AI token user—and Zuckerberg doesn't even rank in the top 250
AI
A Meta employee created a dashboard so coworkers can compete to be the company's No. 1 AI token user—and Zuckerberg doesn't even rank in the top 250
By Fortune EditorsApril 9, 2026
1 day ago
Gen Z doesn't want your full-time job. They want several part-time roles, and it's reshaping the entire workforce
Success
Gen Z doesn't want your full-time job. They want several part-time roles, and it's reshaping the entire workforce
By Fortune EditorsApril 9, 2026
1 day ago
Mark Cuban admits he made a mistake letting go of the Mavericks: 'I don't regret selling. I regret who I sold to'
Investing
Mark Cuban admits he made a mistake letting go of the Mavericks: 'I don't regret selling. I regret who I sold to'
By Fortune EditorsApril 9, 2026
23 hours ago
'I hate working 5 days': Zoom CEO says traditional work schedules are becoming obsolete—and predicts a 3-day workweek by 2031
Success
'I hate working 5 days': Zoom CEO says traditional work schedules are becoming obsolete—and predicts a 3-day workweek by 2031
By Fortune EditorsApril 9, 2026
24 hours ago
Current price of oil as of April 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of April 9, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 9, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.