Things were so different in my generation growing up from today. The amount of shows, DVR, streaming services, it’s completely ala carte and available to you when you want to watch it, instant gratification! For me growing up we did not have cable until I was in middle school so therefore we had three channels. CBS, NBC and ABC. We couldn’t even get PBS so I could not watch Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s neighborhood, I was truly missing out! Add to that, our TV was old and required a periodic pound on the top to get the picture from floating in and out. Evenings in the Wolf house growing up were quite structured with dinner around the table followed by the local news, national news, one hour of an evening show then bedtime. One night of the week, in particular, was always met with disappointment and envy. Every Friday night growing up was when Dukes of Hazzard was on but I was not allowed to watch the show. My parents felt it shed a negative light on law enforcement and was not providing a good example for their son to see. It was a huge disappointment for me because all of my friends would watch the show and talk about it the following Monday in school. I would get so angry with my parents but they would not budge. Back then we didn’t have DVR, or streaming services or even VCR’s to record the show and play back, so once the show was over, there was no going back until summer reruns. When I was young I truly believed this was going to having a lasting impact on my life because of me missing out on Dukes of Hazzard! Now looking back I obviously realize that not watching Dukes of Hazzard, while a well known part of American pop culture, did not negatively affect my ability to thrive in society. Actually, what stuck with me as a parent, was my parents stayed true to their beliefs even with my continuous attempts at persuasion or all out temper tantrums.

Leadership Takeaways:

1. Stay committed to your core purpose and beliefs even with outside influence and tension. I was absolutely relentless in trying to overturn my parents decision to let me watch that show and they stayed the course.
2. Sometimes “Less is more” meaning keep your goals and objectives simple, clear and limited in the number. This will not only help with your time and energy but your team as well. There was some beauty and simplicity in only having 1 or 2 choices of TV show every evening, it also created a community where the family would come together and gather around the TV.