MANAGING PROBLEM PEOPLE: BIG MOUTH BILLY
{MANAGEMENT TRAINING FILM}

Summary

One in this series of training films for business that communicates and teaches through entertainment and humor. In this episode, John, a sales manager, is having trouble with his employee, Billy, who makes promises he never fulfills. John requests the help of Wooster's resourceful valet Jeeves, who visits the office and witnesses a meeting between John and Billy. Jeeves points out that the manager gives orders that are not feasible, and suggests the manager makes sure the employee is able to do what is asked and encourages the employee to be honest and realistic about time and resources needed to complete a task. Jeeves "rewinds" the scene and John and Billy repeat their meeting. By encouraging honesty, explaining the reasons behind a task, establishing firm deadlines and agreeing to an interim meeting to report progress on a long-term task, Billy is a more confident and efficient employee. At the end of the film, a summary is printed on screen recapitulating the following key points of the film: encourage realism rather than optimism; explain the reasons behind the tasks; set deadlines with witnesses; agree on review points for larger projects. The program concludes that an employee's behavior is a response to his manager's behavior; if you change your behavior, you can change his behavior; you can't change someone's personality, but you can improve his performance.

Details

• NETWORK: N/A
• DATE: November 30, 1987
• RUNNING TIME: 0:17:04
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:14643
• GENRE: Education/Information
• SUBJECT HEADING: Business; Comedy; Education
• SERIES RUN: N/A
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Charles Crichton … Director
• Stephen Fry … Writer
• Peter Honey … Consultant
• John Cleese … Cast, the Manager
• Stephen Fry … Cast, Jeeves
• Rik Mayall … Cast, Billy