Michael Scott's 10 rules for business

I never really watched the television show, The Office, when it was on regular television, but since the pandemic I've become absolutely addicted to it.  As I stated in two previous posts (see "Is Michael Scott a bad boss?" and "Leader...ship"), my wife and I binge-watched the show on Netflix all the way from start to finish.  I've found that both the cable television networks Comedy Central and

Freeform broadcast reruns of the show on an almost nightly basis, so I end up wasting a lot of free time watching old reruns of the show.  I've yet to go to The Office Experience here in Chicago, but it is definitely on my "To Do" list (assuming that I can get tickets - it's been sold-out for a while).

A few nights ago (I told you that I watch the show a lot), I watched episode 4 of the second season ("The Fire"), where Michael Scott, the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton tries to provide mentorship to the temporary employee, Ryan Howard, by giving him his "Ten Rules of Business" (all while everyone in the building evacuates due to a fire that Ryan accidentally started by the way).  I thought they were pretty good.  I realize you can probably just look them up on the Internet, but I decided to list them here and give my own interpretation instead.

Rule #1: You need to play to win, but you also have to win to play.

I like the first half of this rule a lot.  I think the key issue here is that in order to be successful (and you can define success however you want), you have to be willing to take risks.  You have to to start somewhere.  One of my mentors once told me, "You will never get the research grants that you don't apply for, so go ahead and apply."  An ancient proverb says that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, and that is absolutely true.  You will never complete a journey that you don't begin.  So take that first step.  Put yourself out there, and go for it.

The second half of the rule is a little more nuanced, and in order to fully appreciate its meaning, you are going to have to take a close look at it.  The individuals who are winning in the game of life are the ones who persevere through the tough times and find a way to win.  These individuals see obstacles, not as barriers, but as ways to move forward.  As the ancient Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said, "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way."

Rule #2: Adapt, React, Readapt, Apt.

Here is a great example of a typical improvisation by Michael Scott (he calls it an "improversation") - he literally makes things up on the fly.  However, I find again that there is a lot more truth in this rule than even Michael Scott probably intended.  I am reminded of the OODA loop developed by U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act) or the PDCA cycle (also known as the Shewhart Cycle, Plan-Do-Check-Act, which is more commonly known as a PDSA cycle for Plan-Do-Study-Act).  

I'm not sure what "Apt" means here in this context (and neither did Michael Scott I suspect).  I suspect he meant to say "Act" here.  Regardless, what is important is the sequence of actions that help leaders make decisions and react to situations, no matter how complex or unexpected.  

Rule #3: In business, image is everything.

Michael Scott was referring to the Canon television commercials ("Image is Everything") from the late 1980's featuring U.S. tennis star Andre Agassi.  Once again, Michael Scott nailed it with this one.  Image, i.e. how an individual or an organization is portrayed and perceived by the public, matters a lot more than you think.  Respect, trust, and loyalty are earned with difficulty.  Unfortunately, they are also very easy to lose.  

Rule #4: Safety first, i.e., don't burn the building down.

Remember that during this specific episode, everyone had to evacuate the building due to a fire.  At the end of the episode, we learn that the fire was started by a piece of bread in the toaster (and apparently Ryan was the one who had accidentally started the fire by trying to make a piece of toast).  Again, there is more here than meets the eye.  I interpret this rule as "Take care of yourself" and "Don't burn out."  There is a strong association in health care between employee engagement, wellbeing, and safety and patient outcomes.  As the saying goes, "Put on your own oxygen mask first."

Well, that's it.  If you're paying attention closely, I said that I was going to tell you "Michael Scott's Ten Rules of Business."  If there are indeed ten rules, he never told anyone on the show.  I suspect that he was making these up on the spot all along, but then you have to remember that this show was a situation-comedy.  Regardless, even his four rules have a lot to tell us.  We would all do well to keep them in mind, both in our personal and professional lives.