Trading Places is a 1980’s motion picture starring Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche about a street hustler (Billy Ray Valentine) and a privileged yuppie (Louis Winthorpe III) that, thanks to a bet between two wealthy but bored old men, trade places in their “careers.” Though the story is presented as a workplace comedy, surprisingly enough there are some important lessons for the real workplace managers can take away from this the-prince-and-the-pauper-like remake.
In addition, the concept of trading places is a notion whose time has come.
An Oprah-favorite television show, Undercover Boss recently restyled the trading places model in a more dramatic, reality-show format with a twist. In this series, the owner or CEO type of a company stepped down with the rank and file employees to observe their work performance, attempt to perform these positions and witness the front lines and behind-the-scenes happenings. The employees did not know the identity of their new work colleagues. Bosses were able to encounter their company from another perspective, one in which they were oblivious, ill-informed and/or naïve about prior to this undertaking. It was a life-changing exercise for both the bosses and the employees.
So, what are some of the common messages in these trading places experiences? Click here for our take and a few actual parallels.
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