OCTOBER 28, 2015
(Almost) everything important in business that I have learned in the last 15 years, I have learned from “Survivor.”
Yes, a TV reality/competition show. And in my mind, still the TV reality/competition show. That’s not a popular opinion, I know. As I’m asked by my friends what I regularly watch, when I say “Survivor,” I get a variation of “You still watch that?” (I need a better class of friends.)
As an Emmy voter, it breaks my heart every year when “Survivor” is passed over for an Emmy nomination for Reality/Competition Show. In recent years, the Academy has fallen into the rut of the same 6 shows to nominate (“The Voice,” “Top Chef,” “Project Runway,” “The Amazing Race,” “Dancing With the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance”). I have no problem with “Top Chef,” “Runway” and “SYTYCD” because these involve skilled professionals working to take their craft to the next level. Of the music competition shows, I like “The Voice” because I’m waiting for Adam Levine and Blake Shelton to wind up at a Motel 6.
Despite its dominance in the category, however, I’ve never gotten the appeal of “The Amazing Race”: the visuals are beautiful, but as a game, it’s pretty lousy. And “Dancing With the Stars?” I guess to Emmy voters, the social interaction and treatment of racism, sexism and homophobia with which “Survivor” has had to deal in the past is no match for the suspense as to whether Paula Deen can learn to foxtrot.
No matter, back to business. And business here is key, as the social interactions needed to succeed on the job are what has kept me watching season after season. People with nothing in common are suddenly forced to work together for a common goal, a feeling many of us have experienced on the first day of a new job. Who can you bond with? Where does the power lie? Once I determine that, how can I align with it? And who is gunning for me? It sounds cut-throat, I know, but anyone in any business that has politics — which means every business — can undoubtedly relate to the plight of someone who is dumped into an unfamiliar place and told to survive.
“Survivor” began dispensing its business lessons in May 2000 and became an instant smash, making unexpected celebrities of contestants Richard Hatch and Sue Hawk. Though the format has been tweaked along the way, the basic premise is that 16-20 contestants from all walks of life are dropped into a remote location (usually on a beach — it’s TV, so you’ve got to have bikinis!) and they must survive for 39 days with limited food and shelter. The contestants are split up into 2 (or sometimes 3) teams called tribes and compete during the game’s first half as a team. (Later, it becomes an individual contest.) Social alliances are formed and challenges are won or lost. The losing team is sent to tribal council, where they must vote out one of their own. The final winner of the $1 million prize is determined by the votes of the very contestants who were eliminated — you have to be cut-throat but do it with a smile on your face.
That first season was a sensation, with over 51 million viewers watching the season finale where Hatch defeated fellow contestant Kelly Wigleworth by a single vote. The current “Survivor” season, its 31st (each competition is regarded as a season, and two competitions air each year) takes place in Cambodia, and Kelly Wiglesworth is back as a contestant after 15 years. This season’s competition is subtitled “Second Chance” and features 20 contestants determined by a public vote online. These former players competed in the game only once, and though they didn’t win then, they made a strong impression on the fans. During each episode, we hear the stories of these 20, many of whom have been haunted for years by one mistake they made and who are eager for the chance at redemption.
That’s what keeps me coming back to “Survivor.” These aren’t table-turning drama queens (for the most part) or reality-show wanna-bes, in hopes of using “Survivor” as a stepping stone to get their own series. (That did happen to “Survivor” veteran Elizabeth Hasselbeck, but she is the definite exception.) These are real people, most of whom grew up dreaming to get on the show and wondering if they have the stuff to last 39 days. When they do dig down deep to tough it out and are able to fulfill their longtime dream, it can be downright inspiring.
If you’ve given up on “Survivor” long ago, give it another try. You may learn something about interacting with people that could help you at work the next morning.
 everything important in business that I have learned in the last 15 years, I have learned from “Survivor.” Yes, a TV reality/competition show. And in…){kind=link}