Barbarians to Bureaucrats
My wife and I are fans of the Law-’n-Order TV show. In fact, it’s about the only thing we watch. So it was with some hope that there would be something new to watch when we’d seen all the re-runs twice for a new program spun-off by the same producer. It’s another police show located in New York, but it focuses on sex crimes. It features some familiar faces, along with new stars.
The lead, it seems after watching two shows, is a female detective who shows such remarkably little depth that I wondered if they pulled her over from the alien ranks of "The
X Files". Vapid doesn’t begin to describe her. Not only is there no there there, but the rest is so unappealing that you really wouldn’t think about looking for it.
It’s always curious to me how bad sequels are. Usually the creator’s got one and right by luck, it’s not likely that it will hold out for them a second time. Of course, some sequels work. The spin-offs that do usually feature a bit player from the original who had the substance to roll-out more of his or her own talents in a new show.
It’s curious how successful ventures seem to fail once the founders leave the scene. There is a certain edge to fresh talent and new ideas. And you can watch in almost every business when the second generation of management comes along, that the company rarely continues as successfully. The problems arise when they choose to promote the ramrod, who might have been a good implementer, but needed to get direction from above. This is especially a problem when a top salesman is made sales manager. The jobs are entirely different and require very different personalities.
Another problem in changing managers is that longevity is considered an asset. But people who have been around a company for a long time, and in the same position or career track, rarely function well in a position that requires innovation and spontaneity. And especially these days, when virtually every business is going to have to modify operations because of the Internet.
Unfortunately, at most companies, the board of directors are not comprised of your leading thinkers either. Mostly they are people from related businesses who run their firms the same way. They are more in the mode to protect, preserve, and replicate.
It’s all a matter of perspective, of course. Is the view toward growth or duplication? Do the decision-makers have the character themselves to choose personnel and implement ideas that will move the venture forward, or are they more inclined to take the etched-in-stone approach? Those who see the organization fluid and vibrant will always have a better chance to succeed.
And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.
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