Now / Later / Soon: The Semblance of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music to Employee Engagement

Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music debuted on Broadway in 1973. Focusing on the romantic lives of several couples, the musical is best known for the song, “Send in the Clowns.” I was first introduced to it through Public Television’s broadcast of the “Live at Lincoln Center” production on November 7, 1990. I obsessed on the original cast album and eventually had the opportunity to see the 2009-2010 Broadway revival.¹

The musical opens with the introduction of the Egerman family: Fredrik, Henrik, and Anne.  Each sings a song related to their current situation.

Fredrik Egerman (“Now’) is a successful, middle aged lawyer married to Anne (“Soon”), his 18-year-old trophy wife. They’ve been married 11 months and Fredrik is frustrated at Anne’s reluctance to consummate their marriage. The final member of this trio is Henrik Egerman (“Later”), Fredrik’s son from a previous marriage. Just a year older than his stepmother, he is a seminary student that no one takes seriously. He is attracted to Anne and Anne is intrigued by him.²

In one of my favorite trios, Sondheim brings all three songs together simultaneously in Now / Later / Soon.  I’ve added a link to a YouTube audio-only recording of these four songs for your reference.

Now/Later/Soon- A Little Night Music (10:36)³

Did you enjoy it?

When listening to the cast album, I was struck by the similarity of these songs to employee engagement.  There are Now, Later, and Soon people in every organization.

Now

Mangers and Leadership make up the Nows.  They are focused on the short-term and expect instant satisfaction.

Fredrik sings:

“Now, there are two possibilities:…
A, The deployment of charm, or
B, The adoption
Of physical force.”⁴

Later

Employees comprise the Laters.  They are frustrated by the lack of process. They want to be taken seriously yet their needs are continually deferred.

Henrik sings:

“When is later?
All you ever hear is “Later, Henrik, Henrik, later.”
“Yes, we know, Henrik,
Oh, Henrik, Everyone agrees, Henrik, Please, Henrik!”
You have a thought you’re fairly bursting with,
A personal discovery or problem, and it’s:
“What’s your rush, Henrik?
Shush, Henrik!
Goodness, how you gush, Henrik!
Hush, Henrik!”
You murmur:
“I only– It’s just that–”
“For God’s sake, later, Henrik!””⁵

Soon

Companies are the Soons.  Study after study shows that employee engagement is a top importance.  Companies know they need to act and hope to implement a solution before long.

Anne sings:

“Soon, I promise,
Soon, I won’t shy away…”⁶

Like the weaving together of the Egermans’ stories, all parties will experience lots of drama before everything finally resolves.  The question is, “Will that resolution come Now, Later, or Soon?”

Lequel est-ce que vous désirez?* (Which is it that you desire?)

¹ “A Little Night Music.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
² Ibid.
³ MusicalsAreSuper’s Channel. “Now/Later/Soon- A Little Night Music.” YouTube. YouTube. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
⁴ Sondheim, Stephen. “Now Lyrics; A Little Night Music Cast | from A Little Night Music.” Now Lyrics — A Little Night Music Cast. Sony, 10 Nov. 1998. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
⁵ Sondheim, Stephen. “Later Lyrics; A Little Night Music Cast | from A Little Night Music.” Now Lyrics — A Little Night Music Cast. Sony, 10 Nov. 1998. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
⁶ Sondheim, Stephen. “Soon Lyrics; A Little Night Music Cast | from A Little Night Music.” Now Lyrics — A Little Night Music Cast. Sony, 10 Nov. 1998. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.

* I had to throw in some reference to Desiree for all the fans of A Little Night Music.

P.S.  First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!  I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.

Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:

• Employee Engagement Briefing for Week of September 8 – 12, 2014
• Dear Managers, Here’s Some Feedback
• When is Your Personal Fiscal Year?
• The Importance of Networking in the Workplace
• Give Employees Their “DOSE” of Chemical Injections to Influence Engagement!
• Employee Engagement and Social Media
• Key Learnings from The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age

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