19 Aug T3 LEADERSHIP WITH A SMILE: GROUCHO!

Groucho (born “Julius”) Marx died OTD 1977 at age 86.

His loss was overshadowed by the death of Elvis just three days prior. Born the son of Jewish immigrants in New York City, he was a comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and Vaudeville on television, radio, and stage.  Master of quick wit. Considered one of America’s greatest comedians and comedy team leaders. Best known for challenging  authority. Whether it was high society, government, or big business, he was sure to let anyone who thought they were better than him know that he wasn’t going to stand for it. Plenty of leadership lessons to take away from Groucho’s characters and career. His inspirational style included:

• TEAMWORK: Made 13 feature films with his real-life siblings, “The Marx Brothers.”

• TONE:  His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in Vaudeville, included quirks such as an exaggerated stooped posture, spectacles, cigar, and a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows. Audiences loved him as much for what he said as to whom he was saying it. Who wouldn’t want to tell a stuffy socialite, “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it”? Or, “I thought my razor was dull until I heard his speech.” Or, “I do not care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.”  Or, “From the moment I picked your book up until I put it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.”  Groucho’s humor worked because it struck that chord in everyone who wants to be bold and to not fear being unconventional but to embrace their own individuality. That’s being genuine, and that requires a certain measure of courage.  Subsequent comedians such as George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Woody Allen were influenced by this element of Groucho’s style.

• TENACITY:  Part of Groucho’s enduring leadership lessons is subject matter expertise and preparation.   The more you know, the more valuable you become. Groucho had an immense personal library. Whenever he and his brothers were performing on the road, he brought along a huge trunk filled with books that expanded his point of view and gave him expertise in any number of areas. After all, you can’t properly insult someone whose background you don’t fully understand!   Groucho was rigorous in his comedy. Before filming most of their movies, the Brothers would do live tours trying out material. As the brothers performed scenes from upcoming movies on the stage, stenographers sat backstage timing laughs, measuring the intensity of audience responses, and tracking whether delivering a line or a physical “bit” of comedy one way got a better response than another. All that data came back to Hollywood, so by the time the Brothers committed the scenes to film, they already knew how the movies would perform on screens around the world.

Bonus leadership lesson: Groucho didn’t accept the status quo or conventional wisdom. Leaders typically don’t. My general rule of thumb when differentiating leaders from managers: Leaders change things for the better. Managers keep things the same. One needn’t be unduly confrontational when seeking change, but when one sees things that don’t make sense, it’s a leader’s job to say and do something about it. The only way anyone is going to hear (or implement) your ideas is when you voice them and begin to act on them.

May his memory be a blessing.

For more motivational “T3” Leadership stories, visit: https://TheBeckerT3Group.com/blog

– Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is a motivational and national security keynote speaker.  He is a leadership professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and the CEO of The Becker T3 Group. In 2016, The Naval Intelligence Community established “The Rear Admiral Becker ‘Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity Award for Leadership” in his honor.  To connect with Paul, visit his website: https://TheBeckerT3Group.com