“30 Rock” on Jack Welch and Six Sigma, Praise from Jack Donaghy

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We know Dilbert makes fun of Six Sigma, but the new NBC show “30 Rock” does a great job of skewering GE culture (of which NBC is a part) and Six Sigma. 30 Rock is easily the funniest workplace show (even better than The Office). No, this isn't a paid pitch for NBC.

In the most recent episode, the boss Jack Donaghy (played by a hilarious Alec Baldwin) tells the employee Liz Lemom (Tina Fey):

“Do you know why Jack Welch is the greatest leaders since the Pharaohs? Because he didn't only involve himself in our work lives, but our personal lives as well. He introduced us to the finest booze, the most restrictive country clubs. He gave us the names of the most discreet private investigators to spy on our ex-wives. He held our hands during our triumphs… and our senate hearings. “

It's all delivered in a Welch-worshipping sincerity. Baldwin's character, Jack Donaghy, is a long-time successful GE exec who was promoted into the title of “Vice President of Network and Microwave Programming” (ah, GE synergies!!!).

Donaghy definitely would NOT think Welch is a turkey.

It surprises me that GE-owned NBC would allow a character to imply such things about Welch, that they golfed at clubs that exclude minorites or that they regularly spy on their ex-wives.

I guess they aren't that afraid of Welch after all.

Funny funny stuff. It's a consistently funny show, in a very dry way.


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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. Mark's new book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

8 COMMENTS

  1. […] by Mark Graban on March 13, 2010 · 0 comments tweetcount_url='https://www.leanblog.org/2010/03/saturday-fun-30-rocks-6-principles-of-6-sigma/';tweetcount_title='Saturday Fun: 30 Rock's 6 Principles of 6 Sigma';tweetcount_cnt=0;tweetcount_src='RT @LeanBlog';tweetcount_via=false;tweetcount_background='cc6600';tweetcount_border='DAE2F0';tweetcount_text='DAE2F0';tweetcount_api_key='d8f2363c00a05734d2ba0ea87b17c416c523acd1af22ead7f9ed47018ff2bfb7';My blog has gotten a lot of traffic since Thursday as people search for “30 rock jack welch” after his “acting” appearance on the show and they’re finding  this blog post from 2006. […]

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