<p>“Be brilliant for ten minutes a day.” Is that enough? It’s worked for award-winning West End and Broadway producer, Colin Ingram who spends his life making multi-million-pound decisions about what audiences are going to like. Sometimes he’s right – his <em>Back to the Future: The Musical</em> is a smash hit. But sometimes he’s wrong – his <em>Gone With The Wind</em> crashed and burned. How does he get into people’s heads? What has he learned? What can we learn from him? </p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>"The only thing that doesn't lie is the box office."</strong> You’ve got to be realistic about whether something is actually working or not and make tough decisions – even if it’s your personal passion or your creative team promise they can save it. He talks us through the lessons he learned with his unsuccessful production of <em>Gone With The Wind</em>.</li><li><strong>"Success is as hard as failure."</strong> There are pitfalls involved in big successes – especially if you’re young and inexperienced. It can cloud your vision and so interfere with your decision-making .</li><li><strong>"Be brilliant for 10 minutes a day."</strong> There are those moments that make all the difference. No one can be 100% all the time - so don’t put yourself under that kind of pressure. But if you can be inspired just for a short time each day, it can make the difference between success and failure.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Chapters:</strong></p><p>(00:56) One of life's big pleasures is deciding to go to a show</p><p>(02:42) Colin Ingram is one of the West End's most successful producers</p><p>(06:08) Colin’s early days working for Cameron Macintosh</p><p>(08:06) What decisions would you have made differently today versus the younger version of you</p><p>(09:35) Colin’s process, considering a theatre production from conception to execution can take a decade</p><p>(21:43) Making big decisions that are not always popular can be difficult</p><p>(24:03) Be brilliant for 10 minutes a day</p><br><p><strong>References</strong></p><p>Colin Ingram:<a href="https://coliningramltd.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://coliningramltd.com</a></p><p>Back to the Future: The Musical<a href="https://www.backtothefuturemusical.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> <strong>https://www.backtothefuturemusical.com</strong></a></p><p>Ghost the Musical<a href="https://www.ghostthemusical.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> <strong>https://www.ghostthemusical.com</strong></a></p><p>Billy Elliot the Musical<a href="https://billyelliotthemusical.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> <strong>https://billyelliotthemusical.com</strong></a></p><p>Cameron Mackintosh<a href="https://www.cameronmackintosh.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> <strong>https://www.cameronmackintosh.com</strong></a></p><p> </p><p>The Art of Deciding has been charting in the top 10, and featured in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/oct/31/how-a-spooky-suburban-manor-became-a-genuine-house-of-horrors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian Podcast Newsletter</a>, <a href="https://podnews.net/update/its-a-continent" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Podnews</a>, <a href="https://list.co.uk/news/45942/something-for-the-weekend-griff-mo-gilligan-rose-matafeo-and-more" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The List</a>, and the Podbible newsletter, amongst others. </p><p><em>The Art of Deciding</em> is produced by Podcart -<a href="https://www.podcart.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.podcart.co.uk/</a></p><p>Series Producer: Jayne Morgan</p><br><p><br></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
