High school dances have provided fodder for entertainment for years (Happy Days, Dirty Dancing, High School Musical) …..especially my kids when they see photos of me in a yellow tux, frilled shirt with my high school girlfriend (not my wife !!)……Many people do say I look like Patrick Swayze …. OK, one person did a long time ago….
I suspect many have not realized the strong parallels between the dynamics of a high school dance and life in a consulting firm …. after reading this you may never think of it again……
If you step back and observe what happens at a high school dance people almost always naturally segment themselves into five groups…. And these groups are very similar to the groups of people in consulting firms or companies……
The Parking lot – some folks that go to the dance actually never make it to the dance…. They stay in their car and…. well, you know….do whatever it is that people do in high school in parked cars (this is a family show)… In consulting firms we don’t have too many people who never even join the dance, I think we usually weed them out in the interviewing process
The Hecklers – these folks stand outside the gym and make fun of the people going in, commenting on how stupid they look and how dumb the whole thing is…… perhaps we have a few hecklers …but I suspect they weed themselves out pretty quickly…..
The Raters – these folks go inside but they don’t dance…. They just watch and don’t dance because the band is too loud for them… or not loud enough for them, or they don’t like their outfit, or it is too hot or too cold, etc., etc. etc. etc.….. They watch other people and complain…. criticizing and rating others’ dancing, date or clothes. They may dance a bit but they find they would much prefer to complain and rate others.
The Performers – they are dancing, but they came to the dance to impress other people….. they work hard to position themselves for maximum observation and rating by the watchers ….they are obsessed about what others think of them and how they are rated …. and they change their way of dancing or position to please the watchers – they feel great when they look good and all the Raters acknowledge it… and terrible when they don’t… Once the Raters go home, they stop dancing, their reason for dancing is over…..
The Dancers – they came to dance! and they are dancing like crazy to every single song, good or bad, wherever they can squeeze out a spot ….… totally oblivious to others opinions … .. hell, these crazy people dance at home alone in the shower! Something about the music and dancing fulfills them and the external factors mean nothing... And when the joy of dancing fades - for whatever reason, they don’t complain or criticize others…. they simply wish everyone a wonderful evening…. And find another dance…..
Are you dancing ???
Just a few thoughts….