Lessons From Super Why?
With an 18 month old and another on the way, my non-Morrison life is pretty much consumed with Sesame Street and Super Why, a PBS animated television show for kids that is produced with grant funding in partnership with the US Department of Education.
Considering one of our business lines is writing competitive government grants, this show caught my attention more than it probably would have otherwise.
Each episode starts with one of the characters having some dilemma or problem, which they take to their friends (the Super Readers).
On the show, they teach the alphabet, words, how to rhyme and about the “power to read” to change your story. I find it amusing that I can oftentimes watch the show that is obviously made for small children and find parallels to adult business life.
One recent episode featured the three little pigs who were attempting to build a house, with each one responsible for a different part of the house. Each one would start working on their piece simultaneously and after a short period, the house would be built, then crumble (dilemma). They weren’t working together, weren’t spending time to create a feasibility study or business plan…they were just jumping in feet first without the required planning that would help ensure their success.
How often do we see this in business? Considering how many small businesses fail within the first year, I’d say that the story shown in Super Why wasn’t too off-the-mark for the adult business world.
In Super Why, they eventually stopped, created a plan, then had their dad review it (a papa-pig feasibility study)…and shortly thereafter they built a solid house they were all happy with.
Stay tuned for more lessons from Super Why!