I had the privilege of going to see Les Miserables at the Dubai Opera House the other afternoon thanks to our friend Frank. What an amazing venue, the cast and production was world class. Shows are a great way to step out of the stress of everyday business life for a couple of hours.
The story of Les Miserables is built around the life of Jean Valjean and was written by Victor Hugo. It’s really about Jean’s life story and how he succeeds through life’s tribulations and challenges.
It bears a lot of similarity around business life. Firstly, it takes a lot of hard work, patience and persistence to finally get what you want in business, but it’s not always an easy journey. Just as things start to get better for Jean Valjean, he discovers that one of the managers who works for him is not good with his staff and it leads one mother getting fired (unfairly) but that can happen in real life too. How often do we check on staff morale and ensure we don’t have rogue managers?
Luckily Jean finds out and decided to do something to help, today we call it CSR Corporate Social Responsibility – giving back to the world some off what we have accumulated in life. This is one of the strong themes of the play – giving back to people we meet or know. What do you or your organization do to help people less fortunate that us?
My daughter works for an excellent US company with an office in Galway Ireland. Each Christmas they put up a traditional tree and on it are various tags. Staff take a tag and on it is an age group and the gift or toy they would really appreciate. The staff member then buys the gift and wraps it up and closer to Christmas the various gifts are distributed through charities in the locality, it is totally voluntary and everyone wants to participate. I found this an excellent way to help others in the community.
Like some young people today Jean’s start of his journey up the corporate ladder was troublesome, he felt the world owed him a living and he was angry and jealous of what other had. He takes advantage of the kindness of someone who took him under his wing. But the individual instead of taking revenge on Jean for the wrong that he did to him actually prevented him from getting arrested. Yes, it’s a bit drastic but think about when new people join your organization? How are they made to feel, who looks after them? Do you have a dedicated person (possibly a mentor) to ensure they settle in successfully? Do you ensure they are effectively developed to add value to the job role?
Just like in business, there is an individual that Jean does not get on with, someone who constantly is a thorn in his side. In business that could be a competitor, it could be a difficult boss, it could even be a toxic business partner, but we do meet them and have to deal with them too. Often, we try aggression, to retaliate, but in the show, Jean shows a different approach and uses kindness to deal with difficult people. Yes, some people believe aggression is the only route but using kindness sets you up as a role model and yes occasionally it may not work, but the reality is we are dealing with human beings and the majority react positively to kindness when it is appropriate.
As in most people’s lives, Jean has his ups and downs but he did not let the negative situations get him down, you have to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you don’t believe your business will succeed them that’s exactly what will happen. If you believe a project will not be a success them the same result. Look for the positives in all situations, they are there sometimes you have to really look to find them. In the end a positive approach will help you solve problems.
Jean, gets caught up in the French revolution and there is chaos and uncertainty, how many reorganizations have the same effect and why? Well in the majority of cases it’s down to a lack of communication. Staff want to know what is happening, why and what the outcome will be. If they don’t get this information is leads to serious demoralization, a dramatic decline in the customer service and staff start to look elsewhere for employment. So while the process is designed to reduce cost, my question would be what will you lose in terms of customer loyalty? How many of your experienced staff will look for jobs with your competitor? What impact will it have on your organizational brand and reputation – those costs will be far greater in the long term. Something many reorganizations do not factor in. So communicate the plan with your staff they won’t like it but they will respect your honesty.
In the end Jean marries off the daughter that he had adopted and ensure she has a good start in life. It was an interesting look into the life of an individual and the trials and tribulations he faced, it’s good for us to do this occasionally and learn from it. One piece of advice I give to participants of my programmes is to read a biography of a famous business person once every 3 months. No, you won’t become this person but you will learn a lot about remaining positive in difficult times and to achieve small objective which them become bigger as you progress. Many biographies are inspirational and they help you to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
If you get the opportunity do go and see the show, its engrossing and spectacular and well worth the time out. Try to find the time to lose yourself for a few hours either in a show a movie or a play and you will feel the value of the time spent and I’m sure your spouse will appreciate it too.