Here's Your Sign!
Is A Return to Normal Your Sign That You Might Be A Redneck?
People just say the dardenest things, don’t they?
Comedian Bill Engvall has made a pretty darn good living out of pointing out stupid things that people do to the tune of about $40 million net worth. His message resonated so well with people that they were willing to give up some of the their hard-earned money to purchase and pin a sign on themselves that said “I’m stupid!” Imagine that.? If a manager asked the same person to identify as “I’m stupid” in the workplace, he’d likely be sued for hostile environment and/or harassment. But Engvall not only got people to admit they might be stupid but pay him to admit it! Wouldn’t you like to have that ability?
Amazingly, Engvall was only the second most popular comedian on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, surpassed by his friend and fellow comedian Jeff Foxworthy. I’m sure you don’t need much reminder of Foxworthy’s refrain: “You might be a Redneck.” Again, people willingly opened their wallets to pay Foxworthy cash to let the world know they might be a Redneck.
You might be wondering what any of this has to do with Never Normal. Well, you might be Redneck or broadcasting your “stupid sign” if you believe in the “return to normal.” That train has left the station and it ain’t coming back. Not soon. Not ever.
But let’s pretend for just a minute that we could time travel back. That we could go back in time to that place called Normal. For starters, a return to Normal for most people infers a better place, a better time. Maybe it does but maybe it doesn’t.
To explore my ambiguity a bit, let’s take a brief drive back in time on the Never Normal Time Machine.
Buckle up. Select your destination. Let’s go back to the 1950s when we loved Lucy, Father knew best, and we always made for Daddy. Get ready, set, go!
In an instant you’ve arrived in Normal v1950s. As a white male, Normal was filled with hope, opportunity, homes with white picket fences, and the family of 4.
That is one version of normal. Another was a bit more restrictive if you weren’t a white male.?
FULL STOP!? Restrictive? That’s a bunch of B.S. Let’s not sugarcoat the truth.?
For women and people of collar, 1950s were suffocating, discriminatory - you might even say racist and mysogynistic - and normal!?
Back in these good old normal days, people of color couldn’t attend white schools, eat in white restaurants, sit a white counters, or ride in of white buses (or were forced to sit in the back.) They couldn’t attend white colleges, attend white dances, and stay in white hotels. And despite having a right to vote, they couldn’t get to the polls. Even the government thought segregation and discrimination was normal when they created the FHA and promoted redlining. Sorry people, that was all normal. Check this out.?
So let me ask, is that the normal we want?
While I’m on a roll, let’s take a look at why a return to normal might not be the sign you want to be carrying around if you’re a woman. In the 1950s and well into the 60s, just 1.5% of women went to college, and many of them attended for the purpose of attaining and MRS. By the way, today nearly 60% of college students are women.
Only 1 out of 3 working age women had a job. Today, it’s 56 percent., down from 60 percent in 2019.
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But while those are interesting stats, here’s what normal looked like for women in 1950:
Are you getting the picture and seeing your sign? Getting back to normal means you want to return to a state where nothing new happens. You live in your bubble and don’t really give a crap about other people as long as your life is comfy and predictable... and normal.
But maybe the 1950s is a bit too far to travel. So let’s roll the clock back just a few years to 2019.? You remember those good old days, don’t you?
With so many people bemoaning the loss of collaboration, employee engagement, and company culture in this New Never Normal world, you would think that work-life was paradise as recently as three years ago. But if Gallup’s engagement surveys are any indication, business leaders and workers have really short memories (or they must be smoking something) because I’m not sure 70 percent employee disengagement was anything to boast about, even it was normal!?
And yet - you guessed it. Somehow that is the normal so many people want to re-live.
And don’t get me started on the ridiculous acceptance of absenteeism, presentessism, turnover, and job stress that organizations and workers endured for years on end.?
Needless to say, my vote is “nay” on the return to normal. While there are certainly a few things I’d like an opportunity to do-over, I’m fully aware that working to return to normal is a pretty selfish thing to do, even if it was possible.
If Bill Engvall is right, betting all your marbles on “a return to normal” may be your sign!
Ready to hop aboard the Never Normal train to a life of growth, innovation, and opportunity? It’s not too late to sign up for my next webinar, Reimagine Your Tomorrow: An App to Adapt.?This one is going to be a doozy. Jason Cochran and I will be talking about what it takes to reimagine your tomorrow, create a people forward culture, and how to innovate in age of Never Normal.
Registration is free but seating is limited. I hope to see you there. Click here to register.
Do you know the difference between innovation and innovating? If you missed our conversation with Ben M Bensaou, author of Built to Innovate, stop what your doing and watch the replay on YouTube or subscribe to Geeks Geezers Googlization on your favorite podcast.
Looking for a Global Thought Leader on the Future of Work to inspire a people-forward organization? Reach out to me (Ira S Wolfe) about speaking at your next conference or business meeting. Click here.