{"id":12876,"date":"2018-05-26T23:24:03","date_gmt":"2018-05-27T06:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/?p=12876"},"modified":"2024-07-17T13:10:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T13:10:41","slug":"collaborative-teams-snl-saturday-night-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getlighthouse.com\/blog\/collaborative-teams-snl-saturday-night-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Saturday Night Live's Best-Kept Secrets for Awesome, Collaborative Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

It's a dark-lit room. In a chair, an English teacher is reading a newspaper. His foreign student walks down the stairs and sits across from him.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Good evening,<\/em>\u201d hisses the English teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Good evening,\u201d<\/em> says the student.<\/span><\/p>\n

The teacher continues, \"Repeat after me. I would like-\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"I would like-,\u201d<\/em> copies the student.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"To feed - your fingertips - to the Wolverines.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"To feed - your fingertips - to the Wolverines.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

They do more speech exercises.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Next - UGH!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It's the teacher. He's clutching his chest. He keels over the chair and falls to the floor. He just suffered a heart attack.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Obedient, the student clenches his chest and falls to his death too.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Floor manager Chevy Chase walks onto the stage, talking into his headset. He looks into the camera and says the famous line: <\/span>\"Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

\"collaborative<\/p>\n

The Funniest Show on TV<\/b><\/h3>\n

This scene we just described, featuring John Belushi and Michael O'Donoghue, is SNL's first ever opening skit.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"collaborative<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday Night Live (SNL) is one of the longest-running shows on NBC. It's a late-night variety show that has poked fun at politics, social issues, and celebrities. <\/span><\/p>\n

It has introduced the world to comedic legends like Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy, and Tina Fey. Superstars like Madonna, Drake, and Tom Hanks have also hosted and performed on the show. <\/span><\/p>\n

It's also a great example of why awesome, collaborative teams are essential to any organization's success. <\/span><\/p>\n

The book, <\/span>Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests<\/span><\/a>, reported that the show generated hundreds of millions in profit for NBC in the late 90's. The earrings are much higher today.<\/span>
<\/b><\/p>\n

Today, we take a look at some of the best lessons from the book to help you have more collaborative teams, too.<\/p>\n

\"collaborative<\/p>\n

What Every Leader can Learn about Collaborative Teams from SNL<\/h1>\n

SNL was a response to NBC's fear of losing the TV network war.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the mid-1970's, <\/span>NBC was in danger of losing major ad revenue due to falling ratings, and fewer successful shows.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"collaborative \"collaborative<\/p>\n

Searching for an innovative solution, network executive Dick Ebersol noticed that all the major networks couldn't attract viewers between the ages of 18-30.<\/span><\/p>\n

He knew that if he produced a new and edgy show that could fascinate these younger people, NBC might become the new top TV network.\u00a0<\/span>In a memo<\/span><\/a>, NBC President Herb Schlosser described his and Ebersol's ideas for SNL:<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"It should be young and bright. It should have a distinctive look, a distinctive set and a distinctive sound.\u2026With proper production and promotion, \u2018Saturday Night' can become a major show in television that people will talk about.<\/strong> It can carve out its own audience and increase sets in use [the number of TV sets in use during the time period] if we do a good job on it.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

With the idea written on paper, they needed a great leader to execute it. This person needed to be able to\u00a0build and manage creative collaborative teams. <\/span><\/p>\n

That leader, is the current showrunner, Lorne Michaels.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"lorne<\/p>\n

The Ultimate Comedy Manager<\/b><\/h2>\n

Lorne Michaels, a Canadian comedic writer and TV producer, is one of Hollywood's most beloved managers.\u00a0<\/span>He was able to sustain the show's relevance for decades by building great collaborative teams between writers and actors. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, his journey wasn't easy. There were many periods of triumph and failure in SNL's history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Executives and front line managers can learn a lot from the teamwork and leadership styles practiced on the show.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Here are four lessons from Saturday Night Live that will help you manage better collaborative teams, too:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"SNL<\/p>\n

1) Hire people who best represent your culture.<\/b><\/h2>\n

If SNL wanted to win over a younger audience, it had to cast people who shared their attitude. <\/span><\/p>\n

Back then, late-night shows hosted by people like Johnny Carson were known for their smart and sensible humor. Michaels didn't want SNL to be like that. <\/span><\/p>\n

He wanted to create a show that was revolutionary like the 60's hippies, and rebellious like the 70's rock stars. <\/span><\/p>\n

To make a different show, he had to look for a different kind of talent.\u00a0Michaels called them \"enlightened amateurs,\" because they needed to write and perform comedy sketches for the show despite lacking proven TV experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Break the mold and make your own.<\/h3>\n

The comedians Michaels hired didn't follow industry or screenwriting standards. Instead of playing it safe, if they had an idea, they would experiment with it until it was funny enough to be on the air.<\/span><\/p>\n

To find them, he went deep into the underground comedy scene. He visited nightclubs, attended improv performances, and networked with fellow writers to find the most underrated talent.<\/span><\/p>\n

This creative approach helped him find most of the original legendary cast members: Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Gilda Radner. He even found writer Alan Zweibel as he was working in an NY deli!<\/span><\/p>\n

This young, hungry cast exposed Americans to a type of comedy it had never seen before. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Your people define your culture<\/b><\/h3>\n

Who you hire sets the standards of your culture<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you hire honest people, your workplace will be fair. But, if you employed dishonest people, your office will be toxic. You would have to fire them, to reinvent your culture. (<\/span>Just ask Wells Fargo<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

As a positive example of this,<\/span> the Cubs' Theo Epstein<\/span><\/a> believed in this when he signed on to turn the Cubs into winners. He sought men with great character to build the team:<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"We want players who are invested in their teammates, we want players who are going to understand what it means to play in a World Series for the Cubs and their fans. We want players we trust can respond to adversity. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

We want players other players like being around. We want guys who care about winning, and prioritize it<\/strong>, and are happy when the team wins and they are 0-for-4 and are pissed even if we lose and they are 3-for-4.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These compassionate players would be role models that younger players would model their behavior from. And it paid off as they won the 2016 World Series.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cubs are just one example. <\/span>The Harvard Business Review<\/span><\/a> has illustrated that the quality of leaders has a trickle-down effect:\u00a0<\/span>Good leaders create more good leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is why who you hire is so important. Their attitudes and actions determine the effectiveness of your organization's collaborative teams. It also impacts how well everyone works together. Have a clear picture of the skills and values you want, and build the team you envision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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2) People who share a common purpose tend to work better together.<\/b><\/h2>\n

In the beginning, NBC agreed only to pay the creative team a few hundred dollars a week. Despite this, Michaels convinced actors and writers to join the show by offering almost total creative freedom. They had the priceless opportunity to showcase their talent to millions of people without filters.<\/p>\n

The first years of SNL were very stressful. Writer and Michael's first wife, Rosie Shuster, explained how dedicated the writing staff was:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"You lived and slept and breathed the show. You stayed there. I remember [Dan Aykroyd] and I, after sleeping over at the office, would walk each other like dogs around 30 Rock just to get a little fresh air. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In those first years it was just pure gonzo, total commitment. There was this phenomenon that was exploding and we all threw ourselves into it 200 percent.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After meetings, writers would go out to dinner and share ideas. They would record them on anything they could find like placemats, napkins, and menus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, they would return to 30 Rock and pull all-nighters trying to create sketches to present the next day.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the writers struggled to flesh out their ideas, actors like Gilda Radner were happy to help them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Great teams collaborate across roles and responsibilities.<\/h3>\n

In <\/span>Live From New York<\/b><\/a>, Zweibel shared a story of how he met Radner. During a writing meeting, he was hiding behind a potted plant when Radner noticed him:<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"I'm hiding when all of a sudden through the leaves I hear someone say, 'Can you help me be a parakeet?'... I go, 'What?!' [Radner] said, 'I have this idea where I get dressed up like a parakeet, and I'm on a perch. But I need a writer to help me figure out what the parakeet should say. \u00a0Can you help me?' <\/span><\/i>
<\/span><\/i>
<\/span><\/i>I had no idea what she was talking about, but she was a human being calling me a writer<\/strong> so I go, \u2018Oh yeah, I'm great at parakeet stuff.'...So now we're both behind this plant and we get to talking and all of a sudden she says, \u2018Uh-oh, [Lorne Michaels] is calling on you'\u2014 this is about five minutes later\u2014 and I get tongue-tied... <\/span><\/i>
<\/span><\/i>
<\/span><\/i>She gets up, goes around the plant to the front of the room, and she says, \u2018Zweibel got this great idea where I play this parakeet and I sit on a perch.' So she attributed her idea to me<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After this awkward meeting, they became one of the most powerful collaborative teams at SNL. They developed famous characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna. A crude anchorwoman that would inspire future cast member Maya Rudolph to get into comedy.<\/span><\/p>\n