Slate's Bizbox
moneybox: Daily commentary about business and finance.

The Survivor Consultant's Last Laugh

Rob Walker
Posted Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000, at 10:31 AM ET

Our long prime-time nightmare is over, and the consultant won. I will admit that the mood was grim at Moneybox headquarters in New Orleans when the votes were tallied and the smug tactics of Richard, the "corporate trainer and consultant," were validated by Survivor's $1 million jackpot. Bryant Gumbel, in the absurd post-show "town hall," helpfully reminded Richard of the various polls that showed him to be America's least favorite contestant, and indeed a post-show snap poll had something like two-thirds of respondents complaining that the wrong person won. "Oh my God, no," was the assessment of one fan quoted in (the lead story in) this morning's New Orleans Times-Picayune. "I can't even express to you what I'm feeling right now. I'm about to cry."

Well, the mood at Moneybox wasn't that bad. But still. I'll leave it to others to ponder the mortifying spectacle of the over-the-top j'accuse leveled by truck-driver Susan at her erstwhile pal Kelly. Or the awkward performance of Gumbel in the hourlong festival of squeamishness he presided over, in which most of the ex-contestants comported themselves with a weary lack of enthusiasm that smacked of contractual obligation. What are we to make of the Survivor consultant's triumph?

It was Richard who captured the attention of this column early on, as I was startled to hear the dull and self-serving theoretics of management finding a voice on the desert island that was the contest's setting. Richard was on hand not to exhibit the self-made entrepreneurialism that Americans supposedly worship these days. Instead, he embodied the more quotidian mixture of false charm, inflated claims of worth to the group, and flat-out lying that anyone who's worked in middle management has seen in certain colleagues whose primary skill--or whose primary "value added," if you prefer--is self-preservation. I was less startled, but still fascinated, to observe how effective this turned out to be as the contest continued. Last night the consultant's final presentation was built around the interesting notion that, while he had indeed been a two-faced conniver, well, at least he was honest about it.

Upon reflection, I'm sort of glad that the show's villain won, because I'm curious what will become of him. While the guy has endured astounding abuse in the court of public opinion, I suspect his ultimate victory is going to entail more than the million bucks. It's not hard to imagine some business publisher or other signing him up to write a "Survivor Guide" or two, and he can probably burnish his brand by hitting the corporate lecture circuit. Yeah, Americans loved to hate him, but now he's a winner, and we have a remarkable facility for after-the-fact theories to justify pretty much any sort of success--a process Gumbel got under way by congratulating Richard in tones that suggested he had won an Olympic gold medal.

Curiously unremarked upon last night, given the degree to which we all supposedly worship the act of actual, unnuanced, meritocratic winning, was that Richard's final rival was a woman who made it to the end solely by virtue of a string of five straight victories in the contest's silly "challenges." So, perhaps what the Survivor consultant has ultimately taught us is that in life's little contests, it's not whether you win or lose, but how well you play the office politics. Now, that's entertainment!

Print This ArticlePRINTDiscuss this in The FrayDISCUSSEmail to a FriendE-MAIL
Share on FacebookPost to MySpace!Share with MixxDigg ThisShare with RedditShare with del.icio.usShare with FurlShare with Ma.gnolia.comShare with SphereShare with Stumble Upon
Rob Walker writes the Ad Report Card for Slate.
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES

Reader Comments from The Fray:


The moral of the story? If we could see our lives in 13 episodes, like Survivor, and were asked at the end what we would've done differently, would any of us say, "I'd be more like Rich!" Or if we are a Richard, would we really look at it and feel proud, and proclaim, "I have no regrets". Even though I know there are guys like Rich out there, winning the rat race, I refuse to join that game. Rather, I want to get ahead honestly, but I want to undermine the Rich's of this world at every opportunity I get, by exposing them, by being honest, by working harder, working smarter, and by being truly compassionate. I don't have the benefit of being able to watch on a TV show how my choices will pan out, but I hope to God that at the end of my life I don't look back and wish I had been just like Rich.

--Robin Myers

(To reply, click here.)

[Note from the Fray Editor: The three "Moneybox" articles on Survivor generated thousands of Fray responses, and Ms Myers' is in fact not remotely representative of them. These titles may give a more accurate idea:

Who would win in a fight, Rich or Godzilla?
I would hire Rich in a NY second
Bone Smuggler consultant
John the Baptist was a Survivor
Richard's tactics: unethical but effective

Fred, whose comment was added to the first article, has probably received more replies than any other Fray posting ever. Mr Walker (and Fred) tapped into the key issue of the summer very early.

It's been a challenge, and we at the Fray love a challenge, but right now we would offer Mr Walker money never ever to write about Survivor again. And don't start us on the subject of Napster...]

(8/25)

Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
The Great Debate
Marcus | Forget Biden. I'd like to see McCain face off against Palin.
Toles: Another McCain SurpriseStumped: Where's Palin's Baby?