Organized Chaos

The Sunday before last, there was a one-hour tribute on 60 Minutes to the recently deceased Don Hewitt.  Don created and was the inspiration behind one of TV’s longest running shows: 60 Minutes.  While I don’t usually watch shows that pat themselves on the back, this one caught my eye.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to watch the entire show.

There were several points made about Don during the tribute:

  • He didn’t like to do segments on issues; he preferred stories on people dealing with issues. 
  • He liked the idea of allocating 15 minutes or more to a story.
  • He didn’t like focus groups and meetings; enjoyed an atmosphere of organized chaos; didn’t surround himself with yes-men.
  • He enjoyed occasionally going out with the reporters, producers, and camera crews.

But I also got the impression that he was unquestionably the boss.

One Response to “Organized Chaos”

  1. Roger Says:

    On a recent trip to Colombia (South America), I spent several days in the company of Paolo Lugari, legendary inspiration behind the successful eco-development at Gaviotas. Among other things, Paolo is an impassioned crusader against centralized planning, a bit of an anarchist.

    He emphasized that he felt that the moment that Gaviotas needed a Master Plan was the moment the community would die. One visitor to Colombia stated: “It became clear to us that most of the successes at Gaviotas were not a result of brilliant planning but of a trial and error process, replete with wrong turns and detours.”

    Paolo emphasized that everyone is different. (One size doesn’t fit all.) This philosophy resulted in Gaviotas having few laws; but it did have laws against violence.

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