Twitter…The Real "Truman Show"?

As I have been a new Twitter user I have found that this application is the new “reality series” that that has taken our nation by storm. Forget “The Real World” and “The Batchelor” now you can know what someone is doing all the time in 140 characters or less. You can get your fill of what is going on in someone’s life, and as a user it gets addicting telling others what is going on with you.

All of this reminds me of a movie from 1998 staring Jim Carey titled “The Truman Show”. The premise of this movie was that a child was basically raised by a false world which was turned into the most popular television show on the planet. This television show had hundreds of cameras showing “Trumans’” every move and everyone that Truman interacted with, were actors. He did not know that he was being watched all the time. Like living in a fish bowl.

This idea is a lot like Twitter or even Facebook. “What is Joe doing right now?” We are having social interaction through electronic means. And millions are using these platforms to interact and are actually interested in what others are doing. Amazing. Is this the old theory of people only go to car races to see a car wreck. Do people look to see what others are doing to foster their own superior ego? Why do we care?

I do not know these answers but what I do know is that I am somewhat addicted to what others are doing as well. How does this affect me and my person? Is there a way that people can actually learn from one another? Can we learn more about human behavior by watching each other and knowing where they go to get pizza and where the best web-site is for exercise, and what is going on at the capitol? Can these be useful tools in who we are and what we do?
The big question that remains is how can we use these tools to further our society? Can we use it to further our business, or quality of life? These are the questions. More discussion to come.

Think about it and weigh in.

Executive Coaches

Whether you are a low level manager or a high powered CEO, executive coaching is all the rage. So what is with this “executive coaching” trend? Can anyone become an executive coach? Can you take an online class to learn how to be one? I must say I was skeptical of an “executive coach” at first, but have found that they have a role in an executive’s life.

During my 15 years of management/executive management work I have seen mentors, coaches, consultants and other types of external helpers that have engaged with a company to help develop the long and short term strategic thinking of their culture. I have seen useful people that play this role and many un-helpful people that play this role.

So what is the secret to finding one that is useful? I think that they must have real life experience balanced with academic proficiency in the area you seek. The coach must have a strong outsider’s view of your organization enabling them to give you real feedback. However they must also hold enough “clout” with you and or your organization to give you the truth even if it is hard to hear and could jeopardize their contract with you.

Some call them consultant, others call them coach, some even call them therapist, I call mine friend. Thanks coach/friend for your interest in me…..

Denny’s

I found the recent promotion for Denny’s free Grand Slam to be a great success. After seeing the commercials then seeing the lines at the restaurants I thought wow this is great. But then I heard people talking about it around town. People who did not even get the free breakfast. I heard sound bites of the CEO of Denny’s on various news shows saying how they also thought it was successful for a 5 million investment. If you think about it 5 million is a small price to pay for great ads, great brand recognition and some “community” building. It was said that people were orderly in line, enjoying one another’s company, sharing stories etc. etc. When I compare this to the day after Thanksgiving sales and the many terrible things we heard about, what a great American thing to do. Denny’s….My hat is off to you, GREAT JOB!!!