cover of episode 443: Amusement Park

443: Amusement Park

2024/7/7
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Claire
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Cole Lindberg
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Dutz Bonas Jr.
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Ira Glass
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Jane Marie
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Jonathan Goldstein
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Sam
通过削减开支、获取电销职位和启动咨询业务，实现从零开始的企业家之旅。
Topics
Ira Glass 讲述了 Cole Lindberg 在游乐园游戏部门工作的经历，他热爱工作，即使工作辛苦，依然保持热情，并通过各种创意活动提升团队士气和业绩。Cole Lindberg 分享了他对工作的热爱，以及如何通过各种方式激励员工，例如甜蜜十六强锦标赛、扔老板进池塘等活动。他还提到他制作的 YouTube 视频，以及他独特的管理风格。其他员工也分享了他们的工作经历和感受，他们都对 Cole Lindberg 的领导风格表示赞赏。 从员工的视角，他们分享了在 Cole Lindberg 的领导下工作的乐趣与挑战。他们积极参与各种活动，例如制作香蕉服装、改造旧游戏等，并努力提升业绩。他们也提到，Cole Lindberg 的领导风格让他们感到快乐和被重视，这使得他们愿意继续留在游乐园工作。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Cole Lindbergh, a 25-year-old employee at Worlds of Fun amusement park, shares his passion for his job running the games department. He discusses his enthusiasm for amusement parks, his journey from a young visitor to a full-time employee, and his unique approach to managing his team, including creating competitions and music videos.
  • Cole Lindbergh has worked at Worlds of Fun for over a decade, starting as a summer job at 14.
  • He's responsible for 32 carnival-style games and manages over 100 young employees.
  • Cole uses creative strategies like the Sweet Sixteen tournament and "Toss the Boss" to motivate his team.
  • He even creates low-budget music videos starring himself and his staff to boost morale.

Shownotes Transcript

We head to some of the happiest places on earth: amusement parks! Ira Glass takes us behind the scenes at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, where the young staff – coached by a funny, fun-loving boss just a little older than they are – truly seem to love their jobs.  

  • Prologue: Host Ira Glass walks through a Kansas City Missouri amusement park called Worlds of Fun with Cole Lindbergh, who had a season pass to the park as a little kid, starting working there summers at 14, and then just stayed. Now he's a full-time, year-round employee, running the games department. It's possible he does this job better than anyone in the country. It's rare to witness someone so happily great at his job. (9 minutes)
  • Act One: Ira continues with Cole Lindbergh and the hundred teenagers who work for him in the games department at Worlds of Fun. We watch them compete against each other to see who can do the most business, in Cole's Sweet Sixteen bracket tournament, which pits all 32 games in the park against each other. We hear about all the things Cole does that other games managers don't. He invents games. He directs music videos starring his team. (23 minutes)
  • Act Two: We asked for your stories about amusement parks. Three hundred of you called in, with stories of fear, floating carnies and, um, vomit. (9 minutes)
  • Act Three: Jonathan Goldstein returns to Wildwood, New Jersey, where he spent one not-fateful summer when he was sixteen. Jonathan's the host of the podcast Heavyweight. (13 minutes)

Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org)