Keeping a Grip

The video of David O. Russell freaking out on the set of his movie "I heart Huckabees" is instructive to all of us, regardless of our jobs. While many in the business are understanding of, and apologetic for a director loosing it under the pressure of production, this sort of freak out - the violent sort - cannot be tolerated.

Business hierarchies are such that the boss gets a lot of passes, but David O. Russell has a problem, and David O. Russell should fix it. He deals with his frustration with violent outbursts of anger, as detailed in the LA Times article. Lily Tomlin seems to prefer snotty sarcasm, which is also rude, immature, and unhelpful.

There are two things every member of a team should consider. First, how do we react to another person's freak out, including our reaction to our own emotions stirred by such horrible behavior. Second, how do we deal with our own frustration and anger?

Keeping a grip on our emotions is part of teamwork. All of our actions affect those around us, and to function well as a collaborator we all need critical awareness of ourselves.

Shakespeare wrote, "the better part of valor is discretion," referring to the wisdom of a warrior to sometimes play dead. On or off the film set, rage is the weapon of fools.