Six Words: Term, Dismissal, Hiccup, Increase, Free, Survivor
You may not have watched it, but you’ve all heard of the TV show Survivor. It’s origins may surprise you.
In 1995 a TV show called Eco-Challenge: The Expedition Race began a seven year run on cable, not free, TV. It was a race involving teams of four or five men and women who competed to complete a journey over challenging terrain, including mountains, rivers and forests. Each team was made up of men and women. Every member of a team had to cross the finish line for a team to be successful. If a team member had difficulty surmounting a challenge, teammates helped them. If a teammate was hurt, teammates carried them. To succeed, no team member could be dismissed. The creator of the show was a man named Mark Burnett. I heard Mark speak at an IBM Consulting Group convention during the early years of the show. Mark was there as a motivational speaker. His theme, you can guess, was the term “teamwork” and the message was that we were a team that depended on each other’s strengths.
I don’t know if there was a hiccup or if Mark had the wisdom to see an increased opportunity, but something changed. His next venture abandoned team work and was just the opposite, pitting competitors against one person against another in a show called Survivor. And Mark survived. Extraordinarily! He went on to create The Apprentice, Shark Tank, and many, many others, usually with a competitive theme. His success has continued to increase and clearly he is quite a competitor himself. He is now Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television.
I’ve edited his Wikipedia article to add information about the first of his three marriages. Although that Wikipedia article mentions that he has been given awards for his philanthropy, I liked him better when he was promoting teamwork.