High-octane Conan O'Brien Works

Take the lead from Conan O'Brien - don't let other people tone you down. High-octane Conan O'Brien works.

Especially in hard times, you may be tempted to play it safe. You've invested emotional capital in a job through your hard work and duck for cover, unhappy. Your energy then gets sapped, and so does your confidence.

Maybe you've been following recent events about NBC Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien. About ten days ago, O'Brien issued a statement to the effect that he would not host the Tonight Show after Jay Leno, if the show got pushed back to a new, later hour of 12:05AM, by the US TV network.

From the statement:

we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my “Tonight Show” in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

The statement and news unleashed a wave of support online. Alas, the network's decision has remained firm. So O'Brien and NBC reached an agreement and Conan O'Brien final show where he will say goodbye to his viewers will be syndicated tonight.

He was right to refuse being pushed back. It would have been a guaranteed formula for failure. Better to leave, regroup, be himself. He's played this very well.

The lesson

Be yourself -- act like every day on the job is your last day.

The challenge

For communicators -- how do you defend and rescue the reputation of a brand, NBC, caught in the cross fire of a controversy between two such popular figures like Leno and O'Brien? Plenty of drama was generated by the two comedians in the last week or so.

[image by Mike Mitchell]

Comments

[Mark McCulloch]

Extremely great post

Absolutely awesome blog

More of the same please

[Rich Becker]

Valeria,

As always, we tend to find that the more people try to be something other than themselves, they are more likely to disparage their brand (if we want to call it that).

Maybe the question for leaders to ask isn't "how can I round the corners to fit this square peg in a round hole" as much as it might be "where do I have a square hole."

While not everyone might see it, this is extremely useful information for people who are engaging others in social media. Skip the modeling behaviors and be yourself, with the only reservation being that you are also representing the organization.

Best,
Rich

[Valeria Maltoni]

Rich:

How can we think of the challenge differently? Is my suggested question vis-a-vis taking a hard look at your organization and what will propel it to growth. Fitting people into a system that has not worked is not going to solve a thing :) Wanted to get that out.

Good thoughts on social media. Although the issue is not one of being yourself vs. not being yourself at the moment. Will share further thoughts in a future post.

[Jon Buscall]

Sometimes it's easier to start something new rather than create a newish permutation of something already established. It was always going to be a tricky move but I don't think NBC's approach would have worked. Conan was right to take a stand.

Where NBC go from here is another matter. If they've built a strong relationship with their viewers they should be talking to them and listening, and be prepared to innovate. Sometimes you have to give your audience what they are least expecting.

Interesting to see what happens to all parties involved.