What Would Happen if Your Boss Went “Undercover”?

More than 10 years of reality programming has yet to quench American’s thirst for watching average Joes and Janes dance, date and debate on television but who would have thought that Corporate America would provide a compelling backdrop for this season’s most unexpected hit?

Like many Americans, I tuned in after the Super Bowl to catch the premier of “Undercover Boss,” the CBS show borrowed from the UK that places senior executives in disguise inside their company for a revealing look at the operations and people behind them.

Maybe, as a New York Times review suggested, a “reality show that turns the tables on management seems tailor-made for the anti-corporate rancor of the times,” yet each week we’ve seen executives from well-known brands – including 1-800-Flowers, White Castle and 7-Eleven – don everything short of a funny nose and glasses to disappear inside their companies and go back to the C-Suite with a game plan to improve the experience its employees and customers have with the company (two important goals in the current economy).

It takes a good dose of corporate courage for a company to air its dirty laundry on TV and, despite some criticism of the Hollywood ending of many of the episodes, these CEOs saw an opportunity to show their employees and customers that they’re willing to see the good, bad and the ugly inside their companies and will pledge to make any necessary improvements with the audience at home as their witness.

“Undercover Boss” will come back for a second season but producers have suggested the premise will evolve slightly, in light of the publicity generated from season one. In the meantime, if you see someone who sort of looks like your CEO being trailed by a camera crew, speak your mind. It could pay big dividends for your company and you.

Ben Saft