Electric Mayhem Harmony: The Muppet Band As Team Goals
The Electric Mayhem Band. To know them is to love them.
Five shaggy puppets who we always see together. Muppets, to be precise. Each with their own distinct personality and contribution, one whose charm comes from disruptive destruction (he’s the “innovator,” we could say?).
All of whom support and value each other as they bring their creative offering to a charmed and appreciative audience.
We could do a lot worse than using the Electric Mayhem Band as our inspirational symbol for a trusting, productive, supportive, collaborative team. At the very least, they will make you smile.
Here’s what make them great role models for any team:
They have their unique role in the band, which is their instrument:
Dr. Teeth (gold tooth, fuzzy pink top hat): Band leader, keyboard, vocals
Janice (long Joni Mitchell hair, bold red lip): Lead guitar, tambourine
Animal (killer brows, crazy eyes, chomping teeth): Drums
Floyd Pepper (feathery orange mustache, mutton chops): Bass
Zoot (dark glasses, peaked floppy hat, blue): Saxophone
They make space for each other to shine. Animal’s drum solos are exhilarating. And terrifying. Nobody tries to stop him. Well, except Kermit sometimes, that uptight frog in upper management. But his bandmates would never.
They prompt each other with graceful handoffs: “Hey, Floyd, take a verse!” says Dr. Teeth, after kicking off “Can You Picture That?” in the original Muppet Movie.
They appreciate each other’s unique differences and strengths, because each person performs well in their role. This is not a homogeneous “we only hire from one university” type team, or a team where only one type of personality is valued.
They have fun together. A kind of creative fun that can’t exist with intra-team competition or distrust.
They evolve with the times, but stay true to their basic values and mission. They have been playing together for 40+ years, and seem to have added another band member (see second YouTube clip linked below), but they are still exactly themselves as a group.
Okay, now you want to see them in action, don’t you? Take a break with the Electric Mayhem. You can see how they have evolved but stayed very much the same, in two versions of their signature song “Can You Picture That?”
Here they are in the foundational cultural moment of my childhood, The Muppet Movie. Including a little dialogue after they hippie-paint Fozzie’s car (Fozzie: “I don’t know how to thank you guys.”/Kermit: “I don’t know WHY to thank you guys.” Zing! Comedy gold.)
Here is a shorter version in their new 2023 TV series. (Haven’t watched it. I’m afraid it won’t meet my impossibly high expectations. And I don’t have Disney+.)