mtvU has enjoyed some incredible success in its first 5 years. In the midst of persistent change and market volatility, the network has achieved rapid growth in revenue and distribution, a visceral connection to its audience, new models for the development of talent and ideas, scalable innovation, critical praise and awards, and more. But to me, mtvU’s most meaningful achievement is more difficult to put a number on. It’s the evolution of a team DNA.
For whatever reason, it’s been a long time since the mtvU team sat around in the conference room and talked about itself. Like, why do people who work at mtvU seem a little different than most other people I meet? Why are they so passionate, creative and supportive of one another. Why are they such good people, and so hilarious? How come they’e so quick and so damn good? How come, for those who work there, mtvU sometimes feels like more than just a business, it feels like a belief, a mission, a way.
I’d heard this for years, colleagues from channels throughout Viacom emailing or calling me privately, wondering if spots were opening up at mtvU, and could they transition into the group. These were producers and executives at all levels, working for much larger networks and brands in the building. Was it that they loved college so much, they just wanted to work on a network devoted to all things college? Was it that they wanted to work for a channel that plays more music every hour than any other cable network? Probably more to it than that.
When my office was moved across the street, I became separated from the mtvU group. That kinda sucked. It’s in great hands, but I don’t get to work on the network day to day, as much as I once did. Now, when I visit, I really feel what a special place mtvU is.
Leads me to wonder why the mtvU group never gets together to talk about what makes it so unique and how it got that way. How come it doesn’t sit in a circle and tweet about itself. It’s too humble to do that, I suppose. Or maybe it’s that nobody’s got time to write — or even read — a power point about why working at mtvU has always seemed so different from working anywhere else. And how, once you leave mtvU, mtvU never leaves you.
Bruce Mau’s good at writing manifestos. Me, not so much. I get a few words into it before it starts seeming like a shitty poem from grad school. So forget a manifesto for this, it’s not the point, and we don’t take ourselves that seriously.
When Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, set out to list his company’s core values, he realized, like me, you kinda can’t. When the boss writes a deck about “who we are” and “who we want to be,” the boss doesn’t just look like an asshole… he is an asshole.
So, instead, Tony asked everybody he works with to help. And what they came up with is so simple, it works. For me, at least. I would just change #1 from “service” to “programming” or “experiences,” just because Tony sells shoes, and we make TV and stuff.
FROM TONY AT ZAPPOS:
At Zappos, we have 10 core values that act as a formalized definition of our company culture. Our core values weren’t formed by a few people from senior management that sat around in a room at a company offsite. Instead, we invited every employee at Zappos to participate in the process, and here’s the final list we collectively came up with:
1) Deliver WOW Through Service
2) Embrace and Drive Change
3) Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4) Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5) Pursue Growth and Learning
6) Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7) Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8) Do More With Less
9) Be Passionate and Determined
10) Be Humble
Leave a Reply