Tim Folkerts
Trusted Information Resource
I had a flash of insight about why the “Survivor” TV show is so popular. Like the “Dilbert” comic strip, “Survivor” provides an absurd caricature of everything wrong with the workplace. All of our workplace frustrations are made a little less painful by seeing others put through even more extreme and bizarre situations. No wonder “Survivor” was the topic around so many water coolers.
Think about it…
The contestants have no control over the process
. Contestants are set down in an unknown setting with no training, few resources, and little guidance. They aren’t allowed to bring their own supplies that might prove helpful. Rules are changed arbitrarily throughout the contest. They are arbitrarily assigned their teammates. Other than perhaps getting physically in shape before the taping, there is really nothing the contestants can do to improve their own productivity or effectiveness.
The contestants aren’t given the big picture
. They are given seemingly meaningless task with no clear relationship to any goal other than surviving to the next stage. They are intentionally kept in the dark about what might come next. They have occasional contact with their immediate supervisor, but absolutely no contact with anyone higher up. Consequently, they have no way to develop long-term strategies for either personal success or for success of the organization as a whole.
The contestants are divided into teams, but really they are competing with their teammates, not working together. Like in office politics, secret alliances form for mutual protection, but now we are made privy to the plotting. Who hasn’t wanted to be a fly on the wall when coworkers were talking down the hall? Furthermore, they all know only one of them will become the “winner”. Some contestants actively seek to sabotage the strongest teammates to improve their relative position for later in the game. The idea that “all boats rise with the tide” is a losing strategy on “Survivor”!
The ultimate conditions for winning have little to do with actual talent, effort, or contributions
. Instead, winning depends primarily on popularity, scheming, and luck. Boy, doesn’t that sound like most “employee of the month” programs! Every employee who ever asked “what did Bob down the hall do that I didn’t that made him deserving of a $1,000 raise” can ask a thousand times over “what did Richard do that the others didn’t that made him deserving of $1,000,000”.
Watch “Survivor” (or most of the other "reality" shows) and learn everything not to do when managing a business. Maybe I should write a book - it could become the next "flavor of the month" in management approaches.
Tim F
Think about it…
The contestants have no control over the process
. Contestants are set down in an unknown setting with no training, few resources, and little guidance. They aren’t allowed to bring their own supplies that might prove helpful. Rules are changed arbitrarily throughout the contest. They are arbitrarily assigned their teammates. Other than perhaps getting physically in shape before the taping, there is really nothing the contestants can do to improve their own productivity or effectiveness. The contestants aren’t given the big picture
. They are given seemingly meaningless task with no clear relationship to any goal other than surviving to the next stage. They are intentionally kept in the dark about what might come next. They have occasional contact with their immediate supervisor, but absolutely no contact with anyone higher up. Consequently, they have no way to develop long-term strategies for either personal success or for success of the organization as a whole.The contestants are divided into teams, but really they are competing
with their teammates, not working together. Like in office politics, secret alliances form for mutual protection, but now we are made privy to the plotting. Who hasn’t wanted to be a fly on the wall when coworkers were talking down the hall? Furthermore, they all know only one of them will become the “winner”. Some contestants actively seek to sabotage the strongest teammates to improve their relative position for later in the game. The idea that “all boats rise with the tide” is a losing strategy on “Survivor”! The ultimate conditions for winning have little to do with actual talent, effort, or contributions
. Instead, winning depends primarily on popularity, scheming, and luck. Boy, doesn’t that sound like most “employee of the month” programs! Every employee who ever asked “what did Bob down the hall do that I didn’t that made him deserving of a $1,000 raise” can ask a thousand times over “what did Richard do that the others didn’t that made him deserving of $1,000,000”. Watch “Survivor” (or most of the other "reality" shows) and learn everything not to do when managing a business. Maybe I should write a book - it could become the next "flavor of the month" in management approaches.
Tim F
