Nutcracker avenueOn December 18, 1892, the now infamous ballet “Nutcracker Suite” made its premiere in St Petersburg, Russia. 1 The ballet was based on the The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffmann and the score was composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Neither the ballet nor its score were well received.  In fact, it wasn’t until December 1944 that this work was finally considered a success thanks in part to the San Francisco Ballet.  Today, it is a beloved spectacle of the holiday season. 2

 

In the ballet, Clara receives a Christmas present — a toy nutcracker – which is immediately damaged by Fritz, her jealous brother. Through the magic of storytelling, the nutcracker comes to life overnight.  Though injured, he defeats the Mouse King with the help of Clara and transforms into a handsome prince. He takes Clara to his kingdom where they are celebrated by sweets from around the world before flying away in a sleigh.  In the end, Clara awakens holding the nutcracker toy and wondering if the adventure was a dream.

 

Much like presenting any new piece of creative work such as dance or music, employee engagement programs will often encounter resistance and can take time to become accepted and adopted.  Actively Disengaged employees will work to prevent the gift of the employee engagement program from being fully realized. They are the Fritz-es or the Mouse Kings of the story.  Once “defeated,” the value of the program can then be recognized and celebrated.  The nutcrackers and the Claras, e.g. the leaders of the employee engagement program, can take flight to purse the next level of engagement programs.

 

How well received are your employee engagement programs? What tips can you share on ways to “defeat” a company’s Fritz-es and Mouse Kings?

 

1 Historyorb.com.  “This Day in History for 18th December.” Histroyorb.com. Web. 17 December 2013.
2 Wikipedia.com. “The Nutcracker.” Wikipedia.com. Web. 17 December 2013.

 

P.S. – First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!  I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.

 

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Let’s Get Engaged!

I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Greg Simpson.

My mission? To help companies succeed by focusing on how they engage, manage, and develop their employees.

My credentials? Award winning engagement work with Fortune 150 companies.

My next assignment? To come in from the field, the consulting field, and return to headquarters. There I’ll lead the ongoing battle against the greatest nemesis in every company – employee disengagement.

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