Conversations in Management: Orson Welles; War of the Worlds

"I don’t think we will choose anything like this again." -Orson Welles following his 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds

A visibly shaken Orson Welles offered this assessment during a news conference the day after his radio play War of the Worlds spread panic up and down the entire east coast. The radio play was an adaptation of H. G. Welles’ science fiction novel of the same name. In the novel, Martians invade Victorian England, repulse the island’s defenders and with the aide of poison gas, begin snacking on the local population. Orson Welles and his collaborators (including John Houseman) reset the novel in contemporary New Jersey and told the story of the invasion as breaking news. Listeners tuning in to the show thought they were hearing Ramon Raquello and his Orchestra broadcasting from the New York Park Plaza Hotel—in actuality it was the CBS studio orchestra. Suddenly an announcer broke in with the news that astronomers had noted incandescent explosions on the planet Mars. After briefly returning to the music, the announcer broke in again and interviewed Professor Richard Pierson (played by Welles) of the Princeton Observatory who detailed reports of meteor impacts near Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. Later a newscaster on the scene reported that a spacecraft had landed. Suddenly, his professional demeanor shattered as he dramatically gasped, “Good heavens! Something is wriggling out of the shadow. It glistens like wet leather. But that face! It’s…it’s indescribable!” Of course, the power of radio is its ability to make people use their imaginations and every listener conjured something really indescribable at that point.

Welles hadn’t intended to terrorize his listeners. The opening of the show had made it plain that this was a radio play adaptation of the novel, but nearly 50% of the listeners that evening had tuned in late. It seems channel surfing was as popular in the 30’s as it is today and many listeners had enjoyed ten minutes of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy before switching over to The Mercury Theatre On the Air. Once they did, however, they swallowed the premise hook, line and sinker.

And what exactly had they swallowed? It was fear—fear of the unknown. In a small tavern, men listened to the broadcast in disbelief until with one accord they jumped up to get their guns and head to Grover’s Mill to help the defenders. A Princeton undergraduate and several professors headed out to get a scientific read on the situation. In Newark, 20 families stumbled into the darkness with wet towels wrapped around their heads to ward off the Martian’s poison gas as they attempted to flee the city. Some simply barred the doors and sat paralyzed with fear.

There’s something we can learn from this (other than you shouldn’t believe anything you hear on the radio). Some people confronted their fear by trying to fight back or figure it out. In short order they discovered that there was nothing to fight and nothing to be afraid of. They had a good laugh and got on with life. But those who panicked and ran, or who shut down completely, only made things worse for themselves. Their emotional pain was exponentially greater and their misery was greatly prolonged. In the end, they only looked foolish.

So confront your Martians. Run toward them and figure them out. And while you’re doing that, have a Happy Halloween!