Shonda Rhimes on How to Create Stories (and Products) People Want

Shonda Rhimes wanted to avoid being a one-hit wonder.

Creators, like entrepreneurs, go through two phases in building their businesses. First comes the zero to one phase, when you create something new. Then comes scaling – going from “one to n” – which presents different challenges. The initial phase for Rhimes, already an established film screenwriter, was developing her first television hit, Grey’s Anatomy, a medical drama still running after 16 seasons.

Rhimes wanted to be sure she didn’t have a one-and-done career, so she began developing other shows. She had to figure out how to work on an even larger, different scale and build a supportive business infrastructure to execute her vision. Creating television programming is too big a job to do alone. Rhimes surrounds herself with people she trusts to get things done.

Luckily, Rhimes had a producing partner to help her navigate that learning curve as she scaled up Shondaland. She spread her trusted colleagues from Grey’s Anatomy out among her new projects. They became her eyes and ears. She explains this was the only way for her company to grow; ...