In Born Standing Up, Steve Martin talks about a time early in his career when he was a new writer on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (a huge show back in the late 60s, or so they tell me:) He was nervous and if asked to write an introduction for a scene or guest artist, he might write, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, Judy Collins." He knew this was not the stuff to build a career on.
 
One day at rehearsal one of the brothers asked if he could write an introduction for a skit. The unspoken message seemed to be, "Are you really capable of writing for this show?"
 
He went to his office and couldn't come up with anything. He was stuck. And then he remembered that his buddy, Gary Muledeer, another stand-up comic, had written a great line that would be perfect. He called Gary and got permission to use the line and call it his own.
 
It was a big success. An older writer on the show asked, "Did you write that?" Martin said that he did and the older writer was impressed.  
 
But here is the amazing part. As a result of that experience, he gained confidence as a writer. And actually became a better writer even though he didn't write that line himself. A success, even when the product isn't yours, still builds confidence. What gives with that?
 
It's got me thinking about how we support people on the job. Its one thing to give people theories and concepts and survey data, etc. And while those things are important, sometimes what people may need is a simple tool. I'm talking real simple. Do, this, do that, and it will work out just fine. Obviously, dumbing down complex things can be dangerous, but maybe we should be doing more to give people training wheels for the new bikes they are being asked to ride.
 
 
Why Owning GM is a Bad Idea
 
I just placed a post on my blog that argues that having the US government run GM is a really dumb idea. If you are interested in reading my rant (or adding your thoughts to my rant), please go to my blog. Change Management News


Rick