When You’re the ‘Secret Sauce’
It could be that you’re the catalyst for making the culture and performance succeed at work.
Leaders may not always identify it or make changes for someone to emerge who can bring the group together, to benefit the collaboration and drive the mission, yet if they do, something special can be created.
Laxmi Rajput, writing at FandomWire, recently detailed one such example.
She tells the story about how on the popular TV show, The Big Bang Theory, that the pilot had not worked well enough because the script was missing something or maybe, someone.
The determination came that an actress, Amanda Walsh, needed to be replaced because her character came off as too strong to simply change her part through the writing. So a recast was done and Kaley Cuoco was introduced as “Penny” in the second pilot, along with other new characters.
The result was impressive. That pilot led to big things.
“Former CBS Entertainment chairwoman Nina Tessler discussed why they gave the show a second chance, in an interview with Emmy Magazine,” Rajput reports.
“Kaley Cuoco joined the cast and she was the secret sauce,” Tessler said, before going on to say that “… and the rest is history.”
Showrunners asserted that Cuoco’s character “resonated far more positively with audiences compared to Walsh’s ‘Katie.’”
Yet a leader of the show says the shortcoming wasn’t quite that simple.
“No, I don’t think it was a casting problem, I think it was a writing problem,” said writer and producer, Chuck Lorre.
The solution that worked extremely well was leadership’s willingness to learn from what wasn’t working, remaining poised and humble, owning its part of the struggle and deciding what could work better.
Leadership (writers and production) improved itself (the writing and casting) and utilized the talented individuals it hired in a way where they added, not detracted from the group, so that they and the collective could excel.
This created a pathway for the collaboration to deliver on — and surpass — expectations. Cuoco became the “secret sauce” according to some and ego did not contaminate the whole, leading to a respected accomplishment.
Cuoco’s reputation certainly grew because of that connecting ability. The writers contributed, as was their responsibility, yet Cuoco earned praise.
Bonus Points
- Entertainer Eddie Murphy knew in his young adulthood just how fragile success can be for someone. “When you get famous really young, especially a Black artist, it’s like living in a minefield. Any moment something could happen that can undo everything.” The common public narrative we’re told is to reject fear and live life, yet what Murphy says is a healthy type of that emotion to keep in the front of our minds to protect us now and in our future. This goes not only for our careers but our relationships.
- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett just gave $5.3 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares to five charities and reportedly, his charitable trust will receive 99%-plus of his staggering wealth. “There’s eight billion people in the world, and me and my kids, we’ve been in the luckiest 100th of 1% or something,” Buffet said. “There’s lots of ways to help people.” While that will enhance his legacy, there was a cost to other people, mentioned below.
- Disappointing news for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which won’t be receiving any money upon Buffet’s passing. He resigned as a trustee at the Gates Foundation in June 2021 in the midst of Bill and Melinda Gates’ divorce. Trust was no longer high and sufficient and that breaks business relationships.
Thank you for reading Reputation Intelligence…
Michael Toebe is a trust, relationship, communications and reputation specialist. He provides consulting, advisory, professional opinion and specialized communications at Reputation Intelligence: Reputation Quality, assisting individuals and organizations with further building reputation as an asset or ethically and responsibly protecting, restoring or reconstructing it.
Professional Opinion, Consulting (about a particular situation),
Ongoing Advisory, Public Speaking and Communications.
