Alright, so in the spirit of transparency I’m going to share something with you all that I have been doing for a few years now that could very well get my man-card suspended for good for mentioning but I believe I have justification for my actions (if only partially).

I watch an absurd amount of reality TV. Now, I’m not talking about the game showy reality shows like Survivor or Big Brother (ok, I do watch American Idol) but the other more ‘day in the life’ types of reality shows I really dig. Here’s a list:

Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Flipping Out, TapOuT, Kathy Griffin’s | My Life on the D list, Denise Richards - It’s complicated, Million Dollar Listing, Black Gold and the list goes on.

I just can’t get enough of them. I’ll sometimes watch the reruns even.

Now, why might you ask and how can you justify that? The first show I took to was BlowOut with Jonathan Antin a few years ago and I really liked the show not because of the hair stylists drama (ok, maybe for 2% of the drama) but more for how it showed how he was building his business. It would show how he would open a new store, manage his people (not always well), make big, risky financial decisions and all the while trying to figure how to manage the balance of his work and personal life.

So whether it’s how Gene Simmons continues to build his empire that is KISS with new ventures or how Jeff Lewis commits $1.2 million of his personal cash to flip a house or the yelling/screaming management style of a oil driller in Black Gold. I find it all good little nuggets that can help me be better as a owner/entrepreneur/CEO/manager.

I can honestly say that I think these shows are as helpful to me, in some of the same ways that bloggers have been. To learn about a different world/industry and perspective that I would’ve never encountered in my daily job enables me to learn from their experiences. I get the same insight from bloggers like Ryan Carson, Tara Hunt, or Gary Vaynerchuk. They talk about business, life and their insights make me better.

So despite having probably lost my man card for watching these types of shows over the years. I am also thankful for them for giving me additional ideas into how others run their businesses, deal with coworkers/employees/family, and to make it all entertaining along the way.

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