CBS has a new show on Sunday evenings called Undercover Boss.  The premise is kind of interesting.  A company CEO  goes into his own company as an entry level employee and learns something about what really goes on in their organizations.  I’m sure many of us who work  in corporate America wish their CEO had a similar taste.

Not surprisingly, often the undercover executive meets some fascinating people with underdeveloped potential or pressing personal problems on their journey.  And this is where the program runs off the rails.  At the end of the show the CEO revels himself and provides feedback to those he’s worked with.  Fair enough.  But then he starts giving away perks.

Waitresses become marketing managers, truck drivers get their own store franchise, and overworked employees get sent on exotic fully paid vacations.

That’s all well and good for the folks involved.  Most of them seem like they are deserving.  But the chances that the CEO randomly encountered just the rare few deserving employees in his company is negligible.  These are a few of among thousands of hard working deserving folks working for them.  But these few are getting rewarded, and their colleagues are not.

In reality, they are simply being rewarded because they are met the CEO and made an impression.  If the CEO actually met every one of his employees and gave them an opportunity to make a similar impression, would he reward all of them?  I doubt it.  It simply wouldn’t be practical, much less a financially sound decision.

So in the end, while these folks are not undeserving, they are being rewarded simply because they made a connection with the big boss.  The program, which purports to bust the executive stereotype of a detached and uncaring tyrant, winds up bolstering a different stereotype, that getting ahead is all about who you know.

Maybe it’s entertaining, but it’s not good business, and it’s not terribly encouraging to the average worker.