While tiptoeing through the tulips of online nice-to-knows, I stumbled upon a time capsule of sorts.
Er, wait a second. That really doesn’t do it justice. Let me try this again.
While in search of what seems a nearly impossible task of satisfying my curious and insatiable mind for learning something new (that’s better), I came across the most peculiar and engrossing story on Minyanville’s daily feed: The Today Show, c. 1994, with the hosts talking about this new and unusually strange new phenomenon called “The Internet.”
NOTE: although the clip is removed from the Minyanville site, their short article is worth the read; you can still see the clip on YouTube.
I watched it three times in a row. I laughed, I cried. I giggled. I stared at my MacBook Pro screen in complete awe… as I blinked and blinked and blinked, I kept thinking of just one question:
How on Earth was Bryant Gumbel allowed to survive as long as he did, and how can we learn from Katie Couric’s path to becoming one of our country’s leaders in mainstream media and network news?
I got a tall glass of iced tea, microwaved some popcorn, and watched the clip a few more times. Please, please, please watch it before you read on. If nothing else, you’ll be thinking, “Geez, when did the mid-90s become worse for fashion than the mid-80s?”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUs7iG1mNjI]
From Here to There
Katie’s come a long way, hasn’t she? How did she do it? Well, if you look at that clip and then any moment of her CBS Evening News show, there are three things (among many) we as leaders can learn from:
1) At some point “going along to get along” is not only appropriate, but it is the best option.
While I found myself cringing, listening to Katie feign ignorance of what the “@” [at] symbol means (I don’t know when there has ever been question about the “@” symbol—it’s been on typewriters for over a hundred years), it occurred to me that I did the same thing she did at a few points in my career.
In fact, all self-preserving professionals have done it: go along to get along, specifically when there’s an enormous ego-driven pink elephant in the room who at the time may have the power to impact your career if you upset it. The pink elephant in this case? Hint: when you look at the clip, you’ll see that he chooses to make an openly derogatory, disrespectful, and excessively unprofessional comment about another staffer while ON AIR.
Sure, Katie goes along to get along, but she also has the discipline and self-respect to know when to start showing that she indeed knows a lot more about the topic at hand than she is showing. Coy and cunning? Only Katie knows, but she isn’t remembered for saying that the “@” symbol is for “about,” now, is she.
2) A critical capability is to have an open mind to new things you know nothing about, and to show fearless respect for learning in the presence of the very people who somehow expect you to know more than they do.
Katie’s ability to suspend disbelief, respect the unknown, and feel comfortable with not knowing everything (while never using pejoratives to describe the very things you know nothing about) has clearly made her a trusted leader in media. Whether you love her or hate her, she has always appeared comfortable with learning in front of us all.
On the contrary, watch and listen to how Bryant Gumbel tries to makes sense of, and cast doubt about, something that seems so strange to him as the Internet.
At one point I actually heard him say, “bah phooey.” OK, when I listened again I realized that he never said that, but it really seemed that way.
We all know leaders who need to be the smartest people in the room. Pay attention to Bryant’s body language and listen to his words… then think about how frightening it would be if he were a position to inspire curiosity for our children to help the USA move ahead in innovations. The sad part? He easily demonstrates the very behavior most of our elected officials show when presented with new ideas. [shiver]
3) A leader not only embraces emerging ideas, technologies, and innovations, but also celebrates the freshest of ideas and collaborations by using their platform as a launching pad for others.
Just seventeen years ago, we saw Katie ponder the existence of the Internet. Last May, we watched her promote the 5th Year Anniversary of YouTube while spotlighting five specific citizen videos that underscore the way technology has opened the world.
We need more of that. Everywhere!
So in nearly the same language that Rick said to Ilsa: here’s looking at YOU, Katie !
What else can we learn about leadership from the eye-widening exchange in The Today Show clip about the Internet? How many of us felt the same way? What other kinds of disruptive technologies have changed the way we view the world?
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Christa (Centola) Dhimo, President & Founder, via Best Practices
She helps clients by aligning human capital performance with business results
Email | LinkedIn | Web | Blog
Image Sources: calendarlive.com
Related articles
- NBC Fires Guy Who Posted The Bryant Gumbel/Katie Couric ‘What Is Internet’ Video (techdirt.com)
- Katie Couric And Bryant Gumbel Discover The Internet (techdirt.com)
- Silicon Alley Insider: NBC Fires The Guy Who Posted The “What Is The Internet” Video Of Katie Couric And Bryant Gumbel (businessinsider.com)
