Education and Brown M&Ms

In this month’s blog revisit, I thought about this fascinating story about the band Van Halen (I am probably dating myself with the reference!) and this seemingly urban legend of people wanting only a specific color of M&Ms. When I first heard the story, I was blown away because the context was more about paying attention to details so that the people you work with can be successful in their work.

One of the adages that I have heard continuously that has also bothered me because of its misrepresentation is “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

The belief behind that idea is to not get worked about things that probably won’t matter years from now, let alone a week later. When I am struggling with something in the moment, I often ask, “Will this bother me five days from now?” If the answer is no, I become better equipped to move on from it in the moment. If it won’t bother me five days from now, why should I let it bother me in the present?

But the idea of “don’t sweat the small stuff” can sometimes be interpreted as disregarding the little details that matter in our personal and professional ambitions. For example, I have learned that if I need a “small thing” to be successful in something I am doing, I ask for it, even if it may inconvenience someone I am working with in the moment. I would rather them be annoyed with a request at the beginning of the day rather than be disappointed with my work at the end of the day.

Small things added up create big things.

Understanding this from the perspective of school administration and ensuring the people you serve have what they need is essential to becoming an effective leader. In “What Makes A Great Principal,” Allyson Apsey and I discuss the importance of being a Resource Maximizer and ensuring that you do your best to provide what your staff needs for them to be successful:

“Teachers face barriers far too often, and many times, we hear nothing because so many great teachers don’t want to bother their administrators. I distinctly remember saying to my staff, “I cannot fix problems that I don’t know exist, so always let me know if I can help.” This wasn’t limited to the “things” we needed, but any other problems that were were happening in our schools. But it definitely did not exclude resources.

…If we want what is best for our students, we have to do whatever we can to remove barriers and be thoughtful about what is needed to help our teachers and staff be as successful as possible.

Remember, leadership is about people, and management is about things.

To help our people, we have to pay attention to the time and resources to which they have access.”

The small details might not matter to you, but it could matter to the people you serve. If you don’t ensure they have what they need, neither you nor them could succeed. The small details become the big things later.

I hope you enjoy the story below as much as I did!

Education and Brown M&Ms

You have heard the jokes about the “Brown M&Ms” when referring to people with outrageous demands or acting like divas. This story was so convoluted that many people (including me) thought that, at some point, a rock band had asked for only brown M&Ms, but in fact, this story was wrong.  

Listening to a podcast this morning, they mentioned that the band Van Halen was the band that had actually requested in their contracts that all of the Brown M&Ms be removed from the bowl, but according to them, there was a hidden reason behind this (From entrepreneur.com):

Buried amongst dozens of points in Van Halen’s rider was an odd stipulation that there were to be no brown M&M’s candies in the backstage area. If any brown M&M’s were found backstage, the band could cancel the entire concert at the full expense of the promoter. That meant that because of a single candy, a promoter could lose millions…

To ensure the promoter had read every single word in the contract, the band created the “no brown M&M’s” clause. It was a canary in a coalmine to indicate that the promoter may have not paid attention to other more important parts of the rider, and that there could be other bigger problems at hand.

Whenever the band found brown M&M’s candies backstage, they immediately did a complete line check, inspecting every aspect of the sound, lighting and stage setup to make sure it was perfect. David Lee Roth would also trash the band’s dressing room to prove a point — reinforcing his reputation in the process.

Van Halen created a seemingly silly clause to make sure that every little detail was taken care of. It was important, both for the experience of the fans and the safety of the band, to make sure that no little problems created bigger issues.

As I often discuss education, I try to draw parallels between popular culture stories and their relationship to teaching, learning, and leadership.

My first thought was that when educators see themselves as ” artists,” the little details matter more than ever. What is seemingly meaningless to someone outside of the classroom could be the minor detail that means everything to someone who is working directly with students. The balance here is understanding when we have to pay attention to the details and then letting go and embracing the “messiness” of learning.

Personally, I know I try to find that balance while struggling with it.  I love this quote from John Wooden:

What are your connections? Are there any parallels to this story and what we do in education?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s a little video sharing the story with the following fantastic quote:

“Sometimes, even the smallest detail can have a significant impact, and it reminds us that success often requires attention to detail and a commitment to excellence.”