Chapter 19

WHY GOOD ORGANIZATIONS CLICK

Nostalgic Excursions Through Memories and Culture

Think of any organization or business as being analogous to a successful and highly entertaining television variety show or situation comedy series. To better understand and improve your organization, remember the most successful TV series and the elements that made them work.

1. 1.The Host-Star. Great TV variety show hosts made their presence known, without overshadowing the scope of the show. The best ones showcased talent, were viewer-friendly and did what it took to make the show a continuing and lasting force. The perennial ones were strategically positioned to last, rather than just appearing and staying.

Perry Como prided himself in being able to perform ensemble singing with ease. Certainly a great headline singer, he knew that singing as part of a harmonious group required a different vocal delivery than the opening number he would deliver at the top of the show and in his “spotlight” medley.

A fundamental element of variety shows was the duet. After the guest star delivered a song or two, the host would make lively patter, and the two would croon together. Many guest stars were actors, comics or other performers. However, all got the opportunity to duet with the boss…most performing nobly. Next to Dinah Shore, Patti Page or Andy Williams, any and all performers sounded their best and gave that “extra something.”

There were group production numbers. Garry Moore had a segment, “That Wonderful Year.” He narrated and occasionally sang, but this segment was designed to showcase his ensemble (Carol Burnett, Durward Kirby, Marion Lorne) and guest stars.

Then, there were the hosts that were good administrators. They did not perform but had a sense of timing, mixing the right ingredients, vision for the show and production values. Media veteran Ed Sullivan knew these elements better than anyone and had the longest running TV variety show (series, 1948-1971; specials, 1971-1974; “best of” compilations still running).

The sitcom star knew that the on-screen family had an obligation to showcase both the whole and each of the parts. Superstars like Mary Tyler Moore, Lucille Ball and others had the ability to shine and also become the spotlight that pointed toward the talents of others.

There were ensemble shows like “Cheers,” “Family Ties,” “The Addams Family,” “The Golden Girls,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Full House” and others. No part of the ensemble could have functioned only on his or her self. In these, the team is always the star, with rotating parts featured.

1. 2.Regular Cast, Setting and Other Constants. The ensemble is what makes the show succeed or fail. Remember the “Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Make Room for Daddy,” “Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet,” “Lucy Shows,” “Night Court,” “Father Knows Best” and others.

Think of favorite long-lasting series and what made them memorable. Each season’s batch of episodes represented the following:

• •Each cast member interacted with the other.
• •The star was pivotal to the ensemble but was also a part of it.
• •Each character got their own lead storylines during the course of each season.
• •Each character played a supportive role to another’s lead storyline.
• •Not every character appeared in every storyline, every week. Some were occasionally absent because they did not figure into the story at hand.
• •Guest stars appeared but were not the “make or break” ingredient.
• •The sets and settings had audience appeal. They were believable within the context of the series premise.
• •Some storylines were predictable. Others broke new ground. And a few were dramatic changes of pace, for emphasis, including the trips to new locations.

1. 3.The Guest Stars. All the top stars guest starred on each other’s shows. That was a way to assure big names and allow those headliners to do things they necessarily could not do on their own shows. The most successful “guest shots” had diversity in performance, rather than the same old schtick.

Ed Sullivan finally got to perform sketch comedy on Red Skelton’s and Flip Wilson’s shows. Broadway and opera headliners sported new dimensions when clowning with the likes of Danny Kaye or Spike Jones.

The longest lasting stars were the ones who were equally good at being guest stars, as they were successful headliners. Lucille Ball was the quintessential guest star. Stars like Kathie Lee Gifford ably fulfill that versatility nowadays.

The business analogies here are to effective partnering, collaborations and joint venturing. One is a better member of other people’s teams if he or she has captained their own. The art of doing business on other turfs enables the executive to expand, grow and become proficient at diverse talents.

1. 4.Breadth of Material, Backup Production Techniques and Company. The best remembered shows were strategically planned. Writing was consistently good. Subject topics referred to each show’s premise and the integrity of its characters.

What goes on behind the camera is more important that what is in front. A star does not make a show. The team does. Successful series learned the value of loyal crews, technicians who voluntarily went the distance and supervisors who saw the team holistically.

1. 5.The Time Slot—Marketplace Advantage. Scheduling is everything in mass entertainment. A good show in the wrong time slot inevitably is cancelled because it fails to build enough audience. Having the right lead-in and follow-up show help deliver the viewership.

Sitcoms always work best in the first hour, the “family hour.” Variety shows and specials always work best in the second hour, the “median mark of the evening.” Third hours are always reserved for prestige dramas, containing deep material, adult content and a thought provoking edge to their narratives.

One cannot produce a product or service without regard to their intended marketplace. Studying demographics and continually benchmarking is imperative. Too many companies keep manufacturing products after the demand has ebbed.

1. 6.The Opposition—Competition. In TV, the only way to measure up to a seasoned hit is to break new ground (i.e. build a better mousetrap).

Even the nature of competition is changing. In the old days, three major television networks competed against each other. With the advent of expanded TV channels, cable, video rentals and VCRs, the number of alternatives keep the industry and the consumers from staring at test patterns.

Too many companies think the public will beat a path to their doors. They’re blind sighted by the competition and fail to properly consider the alternatives held by prospective customers.

Business must research and comprehend every external influence upon the marketplace. Though most are beyond the company’s concern, each constituency, problem and opportunity must be predicted, studied and acted upon. Businesses can no longer perform out of sync with everything else around them.

1. 7.Societal Factors During Their Run. Radio and the phonograph were toys in the 1920s. Within 20 years, they had mainstreamed into the primary artistic media showcases.

Television, though developed for years, signaled the post-World War II era of wonderment and renewed hope. In the early years, the public accepted everything that the box had to offer, without questioning why…and still clamoring for more. The earliest TV series reflected the public’s insatiable appetite for anything that sang, danced or joked.

Television grew as an art form and business in the 1950s. Its cultural beacons encompassed the next decades. The seemingly calm years of the 1950s were an undercurrent of social upheaval. Thus, popular entertainment reinforced traditional values while gradually evolving contemporary issues.

The 1960s were transition years, as extreme artistic expressions began to emerge. The emerging youth culture became the largest target of advertisers and, thus, network executives. The 1970s shocked society with stark reality amidst the entertainment genre.

In the 1980s, videotape enabled viewers to watch what they wanted, when they wanted. With tape rentals, pay-per-view and stockpiling private libraries with tapes, consumers became their own programming executives.

Niche marketing hit its zenith in the 1990s. Cable channels (like magazines and radio stations before them) narrowcast each audience and demographic within. New media (CD rom, the Internet) emerged to create alternative information and entertainment resources.

Business has paralleled milestones in the entertainment industry. Additional societal factors include multicultural diversity, workplace literacy, global markets, environmental concerns, political correctness, ethics and values, the changing nature of employee bases, virtual corporations, collaborative joint-venturing and putting the customer first…which comes full-circle to the way business started out to be.

What Motivates People to Work and Achieve

Per each category of Hank Moore’s Business Tree™:

1. 1.The business you’re in

   Doing good work, with standards of professionalism.

   Producing products/services that make a difference

2. 2.Running the business

   Maintaining high productivity

   Ability to control and influence

   Making correct decisions

3. 3.Financial

   Receiving adequate compensation

   Maintain standards of accountability

4. 4.People

   Being accepted and acknowledged

   Being part of a motivated team

   Receiving praise, recognition and advancement

   Having a certain amount of freedom on the job

   Learning new things

   Enjoying work relationships and having fun with the job

   Achieving balance in life, thus becoming a more valuable employee

   Working with good managers and leaders

   Being perceived as a role model

5. 5.Business Development

   Direct involvement in important projects

   Doing work that empowers customers

   Integrity, with customers and ourselves

6. 6.Body of Knowledge

   Exemplifying standards of quality

   Remaining confident about work

   Exemplifying value and excellence

   Need for personal and professional growth

7. 7.The Big Picture

   Feeling like you’ve made a positive contribution

   Accomplishing worthwhile things

   Being in an organization that makes a difference

Conclusion

Organizations, which click and sustain a track record, must realize the same lessons, which its leaders gleaned as consumers of mass media programs:

• •There is nothing more permanent than change.
• •Change is 90% beneficial. So, why do people fight what’s in their best interests?
• •Learn from the past.
• •Avoid repeating the same mistakes.
• •There exists more knowledge in failure than through repeated successes.
• •“Saving face” is not the most important thing.
• •Many cancelled TV shows have won prestigious awards. Some were just “too good” to be ratings hits.
• •Becoming part of an organization involves commitment and responsibility from each of its members.
• •Put the customer first, and they will keep you first.
• •Get advice from the best consultants, not the wanna-be’s.
• •Never stop planning.
• •Never stop changing.
• •Never stop improving.
• •Continually research, study, understand and communicate what works well.
• •Loyalty and consistency pays off.
• •Learn that the guest star should sound better in the song duet than you do.
• •Thank the guest stars, on and off the air.
• •Even if you’re cancelled, thank the network for the run and past support.
• •There will always be another show on another day. or a changing audience with different creative focus.