The Actors Studio.

Watching James Lipton discuss in depth, the best interviews of the past 250 episodes of the "Actors Studio", got me thinking about the acting and special effects that go on in the business world. Lipton talked about the best episodes being where actors showed their real selves, took off their day job masks and revealed who they really were and what they stood for. They were episodes where true emotion got the better of the actors and people were able to see their authentic inner persona. Our expectation is for actors, to wear a mask, stay in character, be a personality, not show their inner self, work with the facades put up by the special effects people and be someone selling a product based on make believe, for them it's a job.

In the business world it should be the opposite, people should show their true personality at every opportunity, never wear a mask, never hide behind the facade of a product and be authentic in their relationships. I don't have to think too hard, to come up with many examples where this is not the case and business is done from behind masks and using special effects, so as not to show the truth behind the curtain.

The digital business world is often closer to Hollywood than it is to the corporate work life, giving people the ability to be actors in their own movie, selling and hawking their wares behind facades created to influence decisions, decisions not based on reality.
It's rare to see behind the curtain in the digital world and rarer still to find the person behind the website, the forum or the blog. The anonymity provided by the web, gives people the ability to play many characters, most of them make believe and this has contributed to the search for truth and integrity online. Something that's missing if you've ever been scammed, hoodwinked or defrauded in any way.

The corporate boardroom is no different and sees Shakespeare acted out each day as kings and CEOs are tumbled, company cultures become the stuff of theatre and egos grow to engulf the unwary player. How often have you heard the term "player" referring to those aspiring and climbing the corporate ladder, how often have you seen the real face of people once they have accomplished their deeds and how often have you felt yourself caught up in a Greek tragedy at work. From the costumes worn, Hugo Boss or Armani, to the cars driven, Porshe or BMW, the watches worn, Breitling or TAG, and the many accoutrements required to play the role effectively, today's business is often seen hiding behind the stuff of theatre.

When you find business people who have divested themselves of the greasepaint and costumes, you are often surprised by the honesty of products and services that previously you doubted and had reservations about. Like the slow food revolution, realism in business is becoming a force and people are searching out the "real" in people so they don't have to read the end credits to find out who they were dealing with. Maybe the analogy is to stay in documentary mode when doing business, at least that way no one is in Oscar mode hiding behind a script.