Avoiding the Project Runway Approach

Happy Holidays and welcome to what should be a gracious time of year. I have been gathering more experiences to share with you over the last few weeks and can’t wait to write about them. First though is a post that I have wanted to write for a long time…

Over the past 10 years reality shows have really taken hold of our culture. What started with glimpses into personal situations has evolved into staged business settings. From the Apprentice to Design Star to Project Runway, people are putting their professional lives in the hands of reality show producers. Before I go any further, here is my disclaimer – I have watched some of these shows and really like Project Runway, my chosen example for this post. The designers are amazing to me as I love fashion but cannot sew more than an emergency repair. That being said, to achieve and maintain business acumen we must separate how a television show is produced and edited for an entertaining 60 minute time spot versus how we act in our everyday lives. After all, do we want to go around thinking that “one day we are in and the next day we’re out?”

This line is often spoken by one of the hosts of Project Runway and could be extremely detrimental if it were to be used in a true business setting. Think about it - what kind of confidence will a statement like that inspire? “One day you’re in and the next you’re out?!” Would that make you want to go to work every morning? The decisions about who wins and loses on a Project Runway-type show are based on subjective opinions. The entirety of a designers work is not the basis for elimination decision. Instead the television producers chose a format that requires a decision that is dependent on a single project. In addition to the threat of having their projects judge in a singular and subjective manner, the designers perform their work under extremely trying conditions such as severe time constraints and/or limited materials. Day in and day out, over the course of the show there never seems to be enough time to work, sleep or function as a normal human should! Seemingly all of this would combine to increase ratings as people tune in to see who cannot make it and is voted off but we absolutely must not let this mindset translate to our businesses. Let me repeat that – we MUST NOT let these reality shows, designed for our entertainment, influence the way we conduct business.

To grow and thrive, people need the freedom of being challenged without the threat of dismissal. To live under such a threat would shatter anyone’s confidence. Without confidence, you cannot obtain business acumen. Period. No debate on this one. We shouldn’t drive to work thinking that if we make one mistake we could lose our job. Of course, I am not talking about extreme situations – I am referring to judging someone on the entire course of their work. We are human and we make mistakes. It is better to take a calculated risk and be wrong, then not to take the risk at all. As leaders we need to be gracious and accept that not everyone is perfect all the time – ourselves included. By raising our level of graciousness and taking a professional approach in situations of judgment we can set an example for those around us. The goal is not to be a harsh judge of a nearly impossible task. Business acumen will flourish when we meet challenges as a team and create confidence that it is better to try and fail, then not to try at all.