Undercover Boss

This show is now on my "must see" list for its insightful story telling regarding workers and management. In this first show, Larry O'Donnell, the C.O.O. of Waste Management, spent seven days under cover at different sites around the country and worked with front-line workers at each of them. The workers were told they were filming segments for a "new employee" video and had no idea they were actually training their boss of all bosses!





Mr. O'Donnell learned how to separate cardboard from the never-ending paper waste stream on a conveyer belt, pick up and bag paper on a windy hillside, weigh in trucks, keep office and personnel records, clean porta-potties, and dump trash into a garbage truck. Hard work, for all.





But O'Donnell's work didn't stop there. He went on to examine, and vow to change, those management policies that impacted negatively on his employees. It was fascinating to see how the reality of his policies affected him, and inspiring to see the changes he made.





Towards the end of the show, each featured employee met privately with Mr. O'Donnell at Waste Mangement Corporate Headquarters. There they learned his true identity and how much he appreciated learning from/with them. His appreciation extended to prmotions and some management policy changes.





I was particularly pleased to see that at the end of the show a synopsis was run regarding what each employee was currently doing.





Bottom line, the show gives me hope that we can have a working relationship between people, whether they be in labor or management, as long as there is respect on both sides. And to this reviewer, this show takes a giant step in that direction.





Hats off to CBS for another winner!