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Business Rule #53:
Make Time for Downtime
January 21, 2007
by Caroline Pfouts
All work and no play not only makes Jack a dull boy, it also makes his work suffer.
As a part of their reward for winning last week, the Kinetic team members were given the week off. Not only were they given the luxury of free time, but they were treated to a day of pampering at the Lowe’s Santa Monica Beach Hotel. While the Kinetic team was taking it easy, Arrow was broken into two smaller teams to compete against each other. They were given the task of creating an original sightseeing bus tour of Los Angeles. Aaron Altscher and Michelle Sorro were the Project Managers, and each had their own approach to leading.
Aaron brainstormed with his group about what they wanted to do. While he may have suggested a tour of the O.J. Simpson crime scene, he was quite willing to back off when Stephani Schaeffer voiced her concern about such a ghoulish stop. To his credit, Aaron then enthusiastically accepted James Sun’s idea of hiring the Laker Girls to attract attention. In the boardroom, Aaron’s teammates praised his managerial skills, especially his willingness to listen.
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Michelle, on the other hand, was up against a team that thought that she was difficult to work with. Her resulting insecurity made it difficult for her to make a decision. She repeatedly asked for support for her idea of “A Day in the Life of the Rich and Famous.” Not only that, Michelle wanted to hand off the decision of whether to do the tour in Hollywood or Beverly Hills to Tim Urban.
Aaron’s group took a professional approach to planning. They took a tour themselves and found out what the sightseers liked and didn’t like about it. By doing so, they realized that a cold drink on a hot day would make the bus ride that much more enjoyable. Then, at the end of the day, Aaron’s team returned to their base camp and mapped out their tour route. They relied on internet research to determine what visitors would like to see and hear about.
Michelle’s team took a different tact and tried to plan their route by driving around the city themselves. Bad idea. In L.A., everyone drives. The value of a guided tour is learning something about the city that you can’t get by making the drive yourself. Their customers could see the Roosevelt Hotel for themselves. Part of the tour guide’s job is to let visitors know why they should care—to let them know that the first Academy Award Ceremony was held at the Roosevelt.
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ll work and no play not only makes Jack a dull boy, it also makes his work suffer.
