Thank Goodness It's Monday #378

BIG BIRD’S 2012 LEADERSHIP LESSON

FOR EVERYONE

Had enough post-debate Big Bird talk?

 

I’m guessing you probably have. But for me it’s been a –

Bird-in-the-hand moment. I have a story. Therefore I won’t let debate fatigue stop me from regaling you with a Big Bird-centric, non-political, TGIM-minded anecdote that I reported a decade-plus ago in the pocket-sized publication Leadership – with a human touch.

It’s not (overtly) political. You don’t have to be a fan of Sesame Street … supporter of Public Broadcasting … or even remotely liberal in your thinking to connect to the TGIM-minded Takeaway here.

 

So I’m simply going to seize this Big-Bird-in-the-headlines opportunity to share it again, almost verbatim.

Here ‘tis –

“You never turn down the opportunity to work with a legend like Carroll Spinney,” wrote actor Noah Wyle in Esquire magazine. 

“He has thrilled audiences from more than 140 countries daily for the last quarter of a century. His face has graced the cover of Time magazine. He and his coworkers have earned 71 Emmys.”

Perhaps you, like millions of his fans, know Carroll Spinney better as his 8-foot-2-inch, yellow-feathered alter ego: 

Sesame Street’s

Big Bird

And, like Noah Wyle, perhaps you have a fondness for Big Bird because he made mistakes … got frustrated … and was baffled by questions that plague kids and adults alike:

·         What makes a friend?

·         What’s good and bad?

·         What’s for lunch? 

 

Here is Wyle’s report on their first encounter:

“Excited doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling …. Sitting three chairs to my right was a slender, distinguished-looking gentleman wearing the bottom half of a feathery costume. White beard, kind face, gigantic orange feet.

 

Outtake from the upcoming
feature-length documentary film
I Am Big Bird
 

“I knew those feet.”

Their first conversation went like this:

“How do you do, Noah?  I’m Carroll Spinney,” Big Bird said to Wyle.

“How do you do? It’s an honor to work with you.”

“That’s nice of you to say,” was the Big Bird reply. “Today will be fun. Would you like to rehearse?”

With Wyle being gently guided by the ever-professional Spinney, the day’s rehearsal and filming went smoothly and quickly. After the last scene was wrapped up, Wyle reported:

“I walked over to Carroll and tried to articulate what I had learned coming back to Sesame Street: 

·         “That he was the most dedicated performer I had ever had the pleasure of working with.

·         “That I hoped to bring the same enthusiasm to my work.

·         “And whatever frustrations he may have had doing the same character for almost 30 years were appreciated.

·         “That I liked him a lot.”

“Carroll?” I said.

“Noah, thank you for joining us. It was very nice to meet you,” he said.

“Carroll, I just wanted to say –“

“Before you go, I have something for you,” he interrupted.

He reached behind himself and plucked two yellow tail feathers from the costume’s backside and handed them to me.

“Take these home to remember me by.”

TGIM Takeaway: Noah Wyle concludes, “It was something I didn’t expect him to do. It was something he probably wasn’t supposed to do. But I learned that it’s just the kind of thing you should do when you’re an old friend.”

Do I have to tell you how to get to Sesame Street in your daily dealings?

Follow that bird. Thanks for reading, friend.

 

(Now, what’s for lunch?)

Carroll Spinney
in October 2010

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P. S. “Jim [Henson] had written letters to his five children to be opened only after his death. Brian read from his. Jim wrote, 'Be good to each other. Love and forgive everybody.' I remembered Jim telling me that he never wasted energy on hating anybody; he had too much thinking to do.” Carroll Spinney reports that in his book, The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers.