Rudolph Offers True Life Lessons

With such a manipulative message, it's no surprise to read that Rudolph was invented by an ad man, thinks Agamedes.

Do you need new -- lateral -- thinking for your own problems? email nick leth at gmail dot com. Need solutions? No worries. Now.

It's that time of year again. Good cheer, happy children, eager anticipation. Messages of spiritual hope, stronger messages of commercial opportunism and the annual reminder of reindeer prejudice.

Yes, it's the time of year when we are bombarded with the negative message of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.

So what's wrong with that? Nothing... so far...

Check out the next verse:

All of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolph
join in any reindeer games.

Here we have prejudice. Blatant prejudice: Rudolph had a shiny red nose, all else is standard reindeer, yet the other reindeer laugh and call him names. Is this a message that we want to give to children?

Rudolph is just an ordinary reindeer except for the genetic difference of a shiny red nose. Does that make him a lesser reindeer? Does a shiny nose make Rudolph unfit for normal reindeer company? Apparently so, because, They [the other reindeer] never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games.

Poor Rudolph, indeed. Even the author of this awful story has recognised the unfairness of the situation.

So what happens? Do the other reindeer realise that Rudolph is a reindeer -- just like any reindeer -- despite his shiny red nose? You wish!

Rudolph leads a lonely, sad life, the butt of all the jokes of his fellow reindeer. Until...

Santa -- the Boss -- promotes Rudolph!

Boss Santa has let his reindeer bully and ostracise Rudolph. Is Santa blind to the negative workplace culture? Or does Santa simply not care. Until the day that Santa is, as they say, up North Pole Creek without a paddle.

It's foggy, too dark to drive a heavily laden sleigh. All the batteries are pre-packed with the children's toys. Why did Santa never spend that little extra on rechargeable lighting for his sleigh?

What to do?

Time for Santa to notice the runt of the reindeer work team:

"Rudolph with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Riiiiight... Ignore the situation, year after year. Allow workplace bullying, with not even a hint to the workers that Rudolph has an equal right to join in the reindeer games. Until the red-nose runt proves to be the only solution to poor management planning.

"Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

As if the little runt had a choice! Have you ever read a reindeer workplace agreement?

At this point of the story, the little children have received only half of the message of the story: Your miserable workplace conditions will be ignored... unless and until you have something which management requires. You will then be required to provide your services to management (even with no prior training nor experience). You have no real choice.

(Alternate ending: "No, I won't," says Rudolph. "You tormented and ignored me, I'd rather resign." And so they chopped off his head, mounted the shiny nose on the front of the sleigh and had reindeer steak for supper.)

So Rudolph the slightly different low level employee did as he was told. And discovered the second message of this organisational morality tale:

Then all the reindeer loved him!

"All the reindeer"?

Yes, All the reindeer loved him. Now.

All of the reindeer who, "used to laugh and call him names." All of the reindeer who, "never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games." These are the same reindeer who now "love" Rudolph.

What has changed?

Have "all of the other reindeer" seen the light? Have they all realised that Rudolph is just another reindeer, despite his very shiny nose?

No way!

The boss -- Santa -- has noticed and praised Rudolph. That's what has changed.

Santa's pet? The boss' pet! Quick! let's all suck up to Rudolph!

Isn't that an awful message.

First, no matter how bad things are, people in power will only help if they themselves will benefit. Second, you have no power so you have no choice. That's not explicitly stated; it goes without saying.

And third, the best way to make friends at work, is to be supported by the boss.

Poor little children, bombarded from birth with negative messages of support for prejudice and sycophancy.

Poor adults, who have to work in that same environment.

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems by Agamedes Consulting. Support for your thought: email nick leth at gmail dot com