The Statler & Waldorf Syndrome

For those familiar with The Muppet Show, this picture will need little in the way of introduction. But for the uninitiated, their names are Statler and Waldorf – two elderly Muppets who preferred to sit on the sidelines and criticise the best efforts of others.

The Muppet Show, hosted by Kermit the Frog and his fellow Muppets, rarely went to plan – something that Statler and Waldorf felt duty-bound to point out.

From their balcony seats these two elderly gentlemen used their elevated position to openly heckle the younger cast. Their cantankerous opinions added insult to injury as they characteristically closed each performance with cryptic comments like:

WALDORF: ‘They aren't half bad.’ 

STATLER: ‘Nope, they're ALL bad!’ 

Offering little in the way of personal encouragement, these two aging Muppets preferred to sit back and criticise the efforts of others. They demonstrated the classic symptoms of what might be called, The Statler & Waldorf Syndrome – that is: ‘A learnt pattern of behaviour that openly criticises the best efforts of others, while offering little in the way of practical help or personal encouragement.’

With an ever-increasing aging population, ‘Baby Boomers’[1] now find themselves living long enough to see how a younger generation handle the legacy for which they worked so long and hard to achieve. From their elevated – and somewhat financially comfortable – position, Boomers also run the risk of becoming chronic sufferers of ‘The Statler & Waldorf Syndrome’.

Those who fulfil the stereotypical view of an older generation prone to bouts of cynicism and criticism, find themselves in a unique position.

Like no other time in history, western civilization has to play host to an aging population living long enough to see how their offspring handle their inheritance. Sitting comfortably in homes bought and paid for, Boomers enjoy a financial freedom that their children can only dream of. As founders, they face the stark reality of either sitting back and bemoaning the efforts of others or stepping up to applaud those who find themselves centre stage of a Business, Church or Social Enterprise, which others created. Where their legacy has become a liability, Boomers have a decision to make; and so do Millennials.[2]

• Either Boomers jeer the efforts of Millennials, or, through their words of encouragement and offers of help, cheer their every effort.

• While some Millennials have already dismissed them as a dying generation that should simply fade into the background, many Boomers are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to invest their wisdom, insight, finance and expertise into worthy projects.

The question is how do we bring the generations together? For while Boomers might prefer the comfort they have created for themselves and Millenials feel it is better to keep their distance, we need a cultural revolution that creates blended communities that truly reflect the diversity of heaven on earth.

It could get messy, but by breaking down the mental ghettos found in every generation, we could create the kind of communities, that given a chance might transform a society fragmented by generational thinking.

Chris Spicer

[1] Adults born between 1946-64

[2] A person reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century.

Don't Stuff the Dead Dog!

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is a book written by the actor Alan Alda in which he uses a wry sense of humor to relate some lessons learnt from his childhood. The books title comes from a tragic, but somewhat humorous tale, surrounding the death of his pet dog Rhapsody.

Inconsolable because of his loss, Alan’s father tried to comfort his son by promising that, ‘Rhapsody will return’. Unbeknown to the grieving child his dad had decided to ask the local taxidermist to work his magic on the canine corpse. But unfortunately, having never seen the animal alive, his efforts to resurrect the past were somewhat out of tune with reality.

On Rhapsody’s return it soon became clear that in seeking to preserve the past, the ill-advised taxidermist had created a monster. ‘We pulled off the brown butcher’s paper he was wrapped in and looked at him. The dog had a totally unrecognizable expression on his face. He looked as if he’d seen something loathsome that needed to be shredded …. Losing the dog wasn’t as bad as getting him back!’

Visiting family had to be forewarned that the dog in the living room was not real. The canine’s vicious mouth convinced people that he was in desperate need of human flesh. Even when demoted to the porch, deliverymen would do anything to avoid the house.

Rhapsody became a constant reminder that things would never again be the way they were. ‘I see now,’ writes Alda ‘that stuffing your dog is what happens when you hold on to any living moment longer than it wants you to.[1]

In an effort to preserve the past, how often do we create a facsimile, a scary monster that does little to attract people to our organisation? Holding on to something longer than it wants us to, can seriously affect our ability to move forward and possess the future.

Kodak’s inability to embrace the future offered by Polaroid is seen by some, as a mistake that would ultimately lead to their demise. Xerox had everything in their Business Development Department to make the Apple Mac, but it took a forward-thinking Steve Jobs to bring about this innovative breakthrough in the world of personal computers. Many publishers rejected the Harry Potter story before a small publishing house called Bloomsbury had an editor whose eight-year-old daughter asked for the author not to take the book back as she wanted to finish it – the rest as they say is publishing history.

Vibrant organisations can quickly become living museums when a minority chooses to exercise mental taxidermy on old methodology.

To succeed in an every changing society today’s leaders will need mental agility, the ability to adapt to a new way of doing things. For no matter what field of service we find ourselves in, we all run the risk of slipping from the leading edge of innovative enterprise to the trailing edge extinction - when preserving the past becomes more important than securing the future.

Although it is affirming to celebrate the good of yesterday, we sometimes need to bury what is passed, in order to enjoy what is yet to come. For we ‘Stuff the Dead Dog’ when we:

• Listen to voices fixated on the past, with no thought for the future.

• Try to breath new life into old methodology.

• Give room to the monsters others create, instead of making room for the ‘puppies’ of innovation and enterprise.

The power to lead in changing seasons is found in the ability to preserve our core values, while progressively moving forward to possess our tomorrow.

_________

[1] Never Have Your Dog Stuffed – by Alan Alda - February 2007 - ISBN-10: 0099493764