Do you own a television set? Have you seen what they show on it?
Because chances are, the people who work for you were watching TV last night. You should know what they’re putting in their heads before coming to work.
Of course, we already know the answer to that: according to the folks at parentstv.org, by the time your employee turned 18, s/he already witnessed 200,000 violent acts, including 40,000 murders. On TV.
Every night, that number ticks upward. Unless your employees are above the gratuitous violence (and sex, let’s not forget sex!), in which case they may be experiencing news about an imminent economic “crisis” (that according to the POTUS), lying politicians, war, poor educational systems, bio-hazards, terrorism… or maybe they’re filling their heads with people getting voted off certain teams; engaging in dangerous and often degrading activities in the name of a few bucks; the most recent dalliances of talentless celebutantes; or the ravings of partisan hacks and hucksters posing as talk show hosts.
Whatever it is, it ain’t goodness. This is the stuff on your employees minds when they go to bed, and whether they’re aware of it or not, it’s what’s still on their minds when they get to work in the morning.
So ask yourself, when your team shows up in the morning: what do you do to help them reset their brains? Your employees spent a few hours last night visualizing worst-case scenarios and training themselves to expect sensationally bad outcomes. Do you offer more of the same, telling them all the bad things that will befall them if they don’t listen to you, too?
Do you offer a respite in a crazy world, or do you build loyalty by providing a beacon of hope in our weary world?
You have the power to change these people’s worlds; it’s a responsibility you should take seriously. Do it right and it will have material impact on your results.
Tomorrow I’ll talk about how… it’s easier (and harder) than you probably think.
Posted under Coaching & Consulting, Self-Development, Current Trends
Written by Jason Seiden on September 29, 2008
Sorry Jason, this just sounds like pretentious BS to me.
First, not everyone watched TV and second, not everyone watches the SAME things on TV.
Correlation or causation? It’s inconclusive, but I lean towards correlation.
Negative, shallow people probably look for shows to confirm their world view and avoid any sort of challenge to their lifestyle.
Other people might like science and history or action and adventure because thats what they are attuned to.
For management to imagine that it is their job to “deprogram” everyone is hubris; If your people “need” you to do that, I submit that either you need new people or your people need new management.
Hi, David. Thanks for the comment.
Unfortunately, the stats about TV viewing are pretty grim… starting with the amount people watch: http://tinyurl.com/ou8st It doesn’t take long to combine this with stats about sex and violence on prime time–including commercials–to get the picture.
Plus, there have been longitudinal studies involving children and teens that indicate that by the time we’re wise enough to turn off Spike and turn on TLC, the damage is done. The causation vs. correlation debate, when it comes to TV, has pretty much been settled. In favor of causation.
As far as management’s job being to “deprogram” people, that would be pretentious indeed, not to mention beyond the abilities of most of them. It would also be a throwback to a regimented form of top-down management that I do not generally espouse.
This post is about understanding the people who work for you as individuals, including the fact that they carry personal baggage with them into their job——whether you think they “should” or not——and recognizing that much of that baggage comes from a familiar source: the boob tube.
As a manager, it IS your job to understand that and accept it, and then account for it in how you approach your team. That’s not hubris… it’s a wise, empathetic, and politically astute way to drive improved results.