So I FINALLY got around to watching the season finale of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains… and I have to say the conclusion restored my faith in humanity. I don’t think Survivor knows how close it got to being cut from my viewing list for good… but it’s been saved!
SOILER ALERT
Of course I was rooting for the Heroes and seeing Rupert and Colby, my two all-time favorite players, stick around as long as they did was awesome. Even in the Villains camp I had a couple favorites like Boston Rob, Tyson, and even Sandra. Sandra was a heck of a playing on Pearl Islands and honestly she never struck me as a Villain… she was just a really good strategic player. So, I was thrilled to see her push through all of the other Villains to claim victory.
However, even Rupert and Colby’s longevity in the game and Sandra’s win couldn’t correct one major issue I had with the show… Russell. Who the hell is this guy? I can’t believe how ugly he was at reunion show, a time where contestants normally chill out and shed their “in-game” personas. The things he said were delusional and at times uncalled for. His accusations that Sandra has no game and did nothing to deserve winning struck me as funny. Because argument is a classic management style conflict… personally I call it the ‘Pin Ball Effect” because you can liken the two management styles to pin ball playing technique.
In my experience, there are some managers who are so good at their job they have the ability to make it look easy. So easy, in fact, it looks like they’re not even trying. This is a skill. When your job is to work behind the scenes you need to get things done without being noticed. In terms of playing pin ball, these folks would play patiently waiting for the ball to come to them; using only the flippers to manipulate the ball intending to launch it in a specific direction of the machine, to maximize a high score. The flaw in this style is missing your mark… and if the ball drifts down the wrong path it may fall of the board without the player having any control over retrieving the ball. This is the kind of game Sandra plays. For two seasons, her aim has been impeccable and she hasn’t dropped the ball.
On the flip side, I have seen managers who think scrambling and making a production out of being busy is a necessity when getting the job done. After wanting Russell for two seasons… this is obviously how he operates. In terms of pin ball, these players will constantly click the flipper buttons (even when it’s unnecessary) and they would normally use brute force to physically move the machine in attempts to manipulate the movement of the ball in areas of the where the flippers wouldn’t help. Doing everything short of breaking the glass and using your hand to move the ball where you want it to go. The flaw in this style is tilting or breaking the machine. This is how Russell plays.
In the end… just like every management style, there are benefits and flaws to each. However, in my experience scramblers never seem to understand or appreciate a laid back approach to management… which seems to be the root of Russell’s relentless attacks on Sandra’s ability to ‘play the game’… he doesn’t seem to understand one pretty simple fact. There is more than one way to play the game. Boston Rob totally called him out on lacking the social game, pointing out Russell only plays to be a runner-up and not a winner. It’s very true.
Anyway, thank you season 20 Jury for restoring my faith in one of my favorite shows… I’ll see you in September!
