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Making Kids Too Competitive?

5/15/2019

33 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

Cutthroat Kitchen, The Amazing Race, The Voice—television viewership is one sign that our culture loves competition.  However, adult obsessions often trickle down to the littlest in society:  Now children are the main participants in contest programs like American Ninja Warrior Junior, which prompts the question:  Is marketing making kids too competitive?
 
It’s been 19 years since CBS’s Survivor kicked off the ‘recent’ reality TV craze, which American Idol and other competition-based programs helped explode.  If one considers gameshows, then people first watched competition television in 1938 with Spelling Bee and in 1941 with Truth or Consequences.
 
It could help at the onset to clarify concepts.  Not all “reality TV” involves competition per se, e.g., Keeping up with the Kardashians.  Likewise, there’s a broad range of competition TV, some of which is more real/organic, like Deadliest Catch, while other shows are more scripted, e.g., Family Feud.
 
For many years, adults have been the primary participants in these programs, but more recently that focus has shifted to series showcasing much younger competitors, for instance:
 
  •  American Ninja Warrior Junior:  Athletes in three age groups (9-10, 11-12, 13-14) race through extreme obstacles for a top prize of $15,000. 
 
  • Chopped Junior:  Young ‘chefs’ frantically prepare three courses for a panel of judges, with the chance to win $10,000. 
 
  • Design Squad:  “Contestants design whimsical machines in order to win an Intel college scholarship worth $10,000.” 
 
  • Food Network Stars Kid:  Children cook against each other with the hope of hosting their own cooking show. 
 
  • Project Runway Junior:  Clothing designers age 13 - 17 compete for a “full scholarship to the prestigious FIDM in California; a complete home sewing and crafting studio, plus, the dream machine, all courtesy of Brother; a feature in Seventeen Magazine; and a $25,000 cash prize, to help launch their line.”
 
  • So You Think You Can Dance–The Next Generation: Dancers from 8 to 13 years old leap, twirl, and wiggle to win a top prize of $250,000.
 
  • The Voice Kids:  Young singers compete for prize money worth over $30,000, as well as a trip to Disneyland Paris. 
 
This list is by no means comprehensive; there are many other kid-focused, competition-based television series, not to mention dozens featuring adult competitors, which begs the question:  Are these shows telling children that life is all about winning? 
 
Take even a brief look at plants and animals of the natural world and it’s easy to understand the old adages eat or be eaten and only the strongest survive.  Life is competitive.  However, we’re human beings.  Aren’t we above winning at any cost?  Shouldn’t we value cooperation over competition?  
 
In her U.S. News & World Report article “How Toxic Competition Is Ruining Our Kids – and What to Do About It,” Katie Hurley identifies four outcomes of over-the-top competitiveness for children: fractured friendships, stress, burnout, and missing out on part of their childhood. 
 
Kids are naturally wired to want to win.  Anyone who’s played games with children, whether it’s checkers or chess, knows that you don’t have to tell them to dislike losing.  In fact, many kids, even very young ones, loath defeat so much that they have a hard time dealing with not winning:  Some throw tantrums or storm out of the room and sulk.
 
Is kid-focused competition TV fueling that destructive fire?  Are these shows encouraging the next generation to exalt winning above all?
 
First, it’s important to support that competition is fundamentally a good thing.  Yes, all life needs to be competitive to survive, but beyond perpetuating existence, competition teaches things like responding to adversity, avoiding complacency, and valuing hard work.  And, when participating in a group, competition also can teach teamwork and communication. 
 
It’s natural to think of competition in connection to sports, but the preceding benefits, as well as others, often accrue to individuals who engage in all types of competition, including academic ones.

The last three years, I’ve had the opportunity to involve teams of marketing students in a regional marketing plan competition.  First, there’s a wealth of learning that occurs in the preparation process, getting ready to compete.  Second, the knowledge that you’re competing against other schools, encourages everyone to ‘up their game.’  Third, you can learn from your competitors:  seeing what they do well and emulating those best practices.  
 
Whether it’s academics or sports, competition also is just plain fun, part of which is undoubtedly from the adrenaline rush—you’re on stage, being tested, while others watch.  There’s also the pure ‘love of the game.’
 
Growing up, my favorite sport was basketball.  Although, I enjoyed shooting around by myself, there was nothing like playing a game against others.  In fact, besides playing on our high school team, I often arranged pick-up games with my peers.  There were plenty of times I didn’t win, and I certainly didn’t like losing, but having the opportunity to play was always more important than the outcome.  Win or lose, I could congratulate my opponents, telling them “good game” and suggesting “let’s play again sometime.”
 
Continuing with sports examples, it’s unlikely that just watching competition, live or on TV, does much to make a person more competitive.  For instance, there are plenty of older sports spectators sitting on couches who may be passionate about their favorite teams, but they don’t exhibit any signs of becoming more competitive.
 
On the other hand, younger people are probably more prone to watch competitions they enjoy and want to participate in them, provided they have the requisite skills.  It’s really what happens after joining ‘the game’ that makes a person more or less competitive.
 
In the same “Toxic Competition” article referenced above, Hurley describes how most often super-competitive kids are products of overzealous parents, pushing their offspring too hard to achieve.  Most of us who have been around kids’ sports or similar competitive endeavors can relate:  It’s really not the kids who are too competitive; it’s their parents.
 
I haven’t seen all of the kid-focused competition TV programs listed above, but I have watched some of them.  From what I’ve witnessed, the shows model healthy competition, e.g., the children are not placed under inordinate amounts of stress, they are frequently praised for their efforts, and any criticism they receive is constructive.  The shows also present positive reactions to the outcomes, highlighting both humble winners and gracious losers.
 
Like most human behaviors, there are probably many factors that contribute to kids’ competitiveness.  It’s unlikely, though, that competition TV causes children to espouse winning at any cost.  Rather, most of these programs model healthy competition for kids.  As such, the shows also represent “Mindful Marketing.”


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Walmart Says Goodbye to Greeters

5/3/2019

5 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

When you walk into a Walmart this month, you won’t see someone who’s been a fixture at the front of its stores for decades—the greeter.  The world’s largest retailer’s decision to eliminate the iconic position quickly drew harsh criticism, which seemed to take the company by surprise and has made many wonder:  Was Walmart right to send loyal employees into unemployment?

In mid-February this year, the big box retailer informed employees that effective April 26, the greeter role would be replaced by an expanded “customer host” position, requiring a greater range of job skills and physical demands like being able “to lift 25-pound (11-kilogram) packages, climb ladders and stand for long periods.”
 
Those who have worked in organizations for any significant time know it’s not unusual for positions to be added, deleted, and changed.  What’s different about Walmart’s move is that its 1.5 million U.S. associates make it  the nation’s largest private employer, and many of those who have filled the greeter role have been people with disabilities.
 
Given that unique employment impact, it’s understandable that many have not liked the change.  Fred Wirth, whose son Joe uses a wheelchair and who worked as a Walmart greeter before losing his job, claimed the company’s plan was “just a systematic way of getting rid of all the disabled people.”
 
Could Wirth’s claim be true?  Is the world’s largest retailer intentionally trying to displace workers with disabilities?
 
To answer that question, it’s helpful to understand the legal context for any such agenda.  Title I of the American’s with Disabilities Act “prohibits covered employers from discriminating against people with disabilities in all employment-related activities, including hiring, pay, benefits, firing and promotions.”
 
Organizations aren’t expected to employ people who cannot perform the functions of a job.  However, firms are required to provide “reasonable accommodation” for individuals with disabilities.  For instance, a company could modify the height of a service desk in order to allow an individual in a wheelchair to more comfortably interact with customers.
 
To its credit, Walmart has tried to transition disabled greeters into different positions and otherwise accommodate them.  It began to do so in 2015, when it started a pilot program that introduced the customer host position, who not only greets customers but also keeps the entrances safe and clean, assists with returns, and checks receipts as needed.  During this program, the company claims it was able to help 80% of affected associates find new positions, many involving promotions.
 
Greg Foran, president and CEO of Walmart's U.S. stores, says that it’s the company’s goal to offer “appropriate accommodations that will enable these associates to continue in other roles with their store.”  For instance, the company was able to offer jobs in self-checkout to three longtime greeters, all of whom have cerebral palsy.
 
Unfortunately, not every former greeter could be reasonably accommodated or had skills that would readily translate to other work.  For these reasons, Walmart has extended the 60 day transition period in order to allow extra time for greeters with disabilities to find other jobs within the company.
 
Besides what seems to be a good faith effort to continue to employ individuals with disabilities, it’s worth noting that Walmart historically has been one of few employers to actively hire people with disabilities.  It’s easy to criticize Walmart for its recent move away from greeters, but how many associates with disabilities do we see working in Target or most other retailers?
 
It’s also important to recognize retail’s great state of flux.  The sector has become extremely competitive, largely due to e-commerce and online giant Amazon, which has helped precipitate store closings for some of the greatest retailers ever, e.g., Sears, Kmart, and Toys R Us.
 
Furthermore, when consumers do shop in-store, they are increasingly greeted by touchscreen kiosks and self-checkouts, not people.  The grocery store where our family shops has a robot, rather than a person, roaming the floors to look for spills and dropped products.
 
Most of these technological advancements are driven by firms’ desires for greater efficiency and effectiveness.  There also are times for most of us when it’s just easier to deal with a machine than a person.  Nothing against bank tellers, but most people probably prefer to get cash from an ATM and to have funds deposited electronically into their accounts.
 
In the digital age, most people also probably don’t care about being greeted as soon as they enter a big box retailer.  For some, it may even be a turn-off.
 
One of the greatest gifts any of us can be given is a job, but employment should be more than biding time to get a paycheck.  Work should be meaningful to the person doing it, as well as to the company paying for it and to others ‘consuming’ it.  The position of Walmart store greeter once served a more useful purpose, but it has outlived its useful life.
 
You probably wouldn’t want to sit or stand in the same place, day after day, repeating over and over, “Welcome to Walmart” to largely apathetic passersby.  I wouldn’t.  Most people, including individuals with disabilities, are capable of much more.
 
Even certain advocates for the disabled have applauded Walmart’s efforts to transition greeters to other positions.  For instance, senior disability specialist at National Disability Rights Network Cheryl-Bates-Harris says, “Walmart is now opening the door to actually help individuals realize their full employment potential.”
 
So, it’s very unlikely that Walmart is intentionally trying to displace disabled workers.  More likely, it wants to remain viable in a fiercely competitive retail arena, which will, in turn, allow it to continue to employ millions of people, including those with disabilities.
 
Sometimes organizations need to make tough decisions that negatively impact certain people in the short-run.  However, offering meaningful work that provides valuable service to others in the long-run equals “Mindful Marketing.”


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    David Hagenbuch,
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