Last week I found myself watching the show Undercover Boss. It is where corporate executive go undercover within their organizations to get a better idea of how their business is really operating. The show is a little bit cheesy but the idea of sending a CEO “undercover” in an organization is pretty solid. Think about the CEO of the company you work for, if you even know who he/she is, and you can imagine how out of touch that person really is with the day to day operation the company. It is the nature of business that upper management becomes concerned with the bottom line and efficiency while losing touch with the regular employee.
Last week the show featured the CEO of 7-11 who was working undercover as a new employee at different jobs in 7-11. He grew some stubble and then went to start work as a stock boy, night shift clerk, warehouse worker, and delivery driver. Not surprisingly each person he met and worked with had a touching backstory, the delivery driver he worked with was Igor from Kazakhstan. The following clip from the show is Igor’s segment, I don’t know why but this piece moved me.
Now think about someone you know, or hell even yourself, doing this job. Most likely you would resent the company for keeping you away from your spouse and making you work long hours. You would complain about this that and the other. This guy gets it, he is the happiest guy in the world and he is a delivery driver for 7-11 who sees his wife two days a week. This guy doesn’t complain about his hours, bitch about his pay, or complain at all. Why is he so happy? Because he has freedoms and the ability to earn that he never had before. He said it himself when he told the CEO “America is the best country in the world, you guys just don’t really know how blessed you are.” He couldn’t have said it better. Americans have gotten to a point where they feel they are entitled to this, entitled to that. We complain when things aren’t pretty and perfect but fail to realize how good we really have it.
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Thanks for sharing that clip. I don’t get that channel due to our digital receiver, don’t know why. But I love the premise and that story is awesome. It shows that many of us who have ‘made it’ tend to overlook those around us who are gifted and capable of doing great things if they only can get a chance.
.-= Ted´s last blog ..Getting used to being in debt… =-.
That was almost too cheesy for me to handle!!!! However the guy clearly was just one of those awesome people and he managed to help me through watching the clip….. I have met many people like him before.
America does have a lot of problems but in many respects you guys are lucky and it does sometimes need to be highlighted….
.-= Forest´s last blog ..Garbage City – Now That’s Entrepenuralism =-.
Awesome clip! Did he know he was being taped? I am an immigrant myself but have been in the U.S. for over 12 years, sometimes I forget how great of a country America is and the opportunities I’ve had here. Videos like these are a great reminder 😉
.-= Vera´s last blog ..Interview & Giveaway: "Wherever Nina Lies" by Lynn Weingarten =-.
I really like that show, but there are a few things about it that annoy me:
(1) No female CEOs/COOs/etc.
(2) They always work with people who have very tragic backstories
(3) A lot of it feels very staged
.-= me in millions´s last blog ..Yoga, Life and Money =-.
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