They always say that it is a mistake to hire your friends and they are right! So, I hired my best friends. And this is what I get? (Michael Scott)
The office has been ranked one of the most streamed shows for years, and Michael Scott is one of the most beloved TV characters to date.
Michael Scott is an immature bumbling fool for much of the show. He makes inappropriate jokes, sends emails that would get someone fired in real life, seeks the love and approval of everyone, and is overly-invested in the lives of people around him.
In the original (British) version of the The Office, Michael Scott is completely irredeemable, but that simply does not worked for American television. Although Michael Scott is a character that represents absurdity in many ways, the writers couldn’t help but make him a redeemable character. What is his redeemable characteristic? He cares.
We’ve all heard it. Don’t mix business and friends, especially not family. It’s an interesting thought to consider. The idea of divorcing business from an interpersonal relationship seems extremely logical. The idea is that business is cold and clean, and we shouldn’t muddy it with feelings and subjectivity.
Michael is invested in his staff, company, and customers — albeit to an inappropriate extent. When downsizing needed to happen, he didn’t want to lay off any employees. When the branch was going to close down, he waited outside of the CFO’s house to confront him in order to save his employees’ jobs.
Michael Scott manages to care while selling something simple and unglamorous: paper. Let’s take a look at where he gets caring right, and how it helps him create a “win, win, win” situation.
Caring About Clients
Salespersons all know that if you want to make a sale, it’s good practice that client feels that your care for him/her. But if you’ve ever been pitched to, you know that you can feel when the sales person only cares about closing.
This is why it’s easy to sell a product you believe in. It’s easy to make a pitch when you believe the product or service you’re offering will help people or is superior to the competitor.
Caring about the client is key to making a sale and really will set you apart from everyone else. Local companies like Daily Dumpster care about the people they are helping. They can see that they are bettering their community and providing a service or product that helps people.
The Michael Scott example about caring about your client can be seen in an early episode entitled The Client.
As the Branch Manager, he goes with the Vice President (Jan) to a client lunch to try and close a large enough client to prevent downsizing his branch. They meet with a local county representative to try to provide paper to for all county offices, schools, etc.
Jan very clearly represents the salesperson who cares about closing the sale — nothing more. Jan, Michael, and the client sit at the table, and Jan immediately jumps into the financial needs and desires of the county. The conversation becomes quite tense as they discuss “the bottom line,” and “cost reduction.”
Michael thankfully interjects with “Awesome Blossom,” jokes, and margaritas. He proceeds to bond with client over jokes, drinks, and interesting personal conversation. This a great way to introduce Michael’s background about growing up in the county and attending the local schools.
That’s where the power of the small business comes in. He tells the client the truth. He can’t beat the big companies prices; he can only care more. He informs him that big companies come in, run the small guys out of business, and raise their prices. The alternative is to have a local guy who cares about the client and the county. Someone who won’t just up their prices and who picks up the phone when they call.
What set Michael apart from Jan? He cared about the client just as much (or more) than he did about closing the sale. He connected with the person instead of crunching the numbers. She was selling paper, and he sold a great business relationship. He convinced the client with his actions that he cared him and the county that he represented.
Needless to say: he closed it.
Caring About Your Staff
Everyone wants to believe that their boss cares about them. However, most people don’t (s)he does. Unfortunately, in many cases, they would be correct.
Most everyone can agree that a good boss cares about their staff. He knows things about them that goes beyond the “business.” He knows about their spouses, children, interests, goals, and more.
Because he’s immature, Michael Scott doesn’t know how to learn about people well. He’s not good at asking the questions, but he’s very interested in his employees’ interests and dreams. While some of the examples are absurd and over the top, the principle remains the same. Michael gives everyone extra PTO to go to an employee’s wedding, and he supported his employees business endeavors.
The most realistic example is when Michael supports Pam’s artistic interests. Throughout one episode, Pam is inviting people to her art show and even pushes her boyfriend telling him he has to go. Her boyfriend goes, but he shows up half heartedly, selfishly, and briefly. At the end of the episode, Michael goes to Pam’s art show and is full of wonder. He focuses entirely on her by telling her how amazing her art is and how proud he is of her. He even asks to buy one her pieces — a drawing of the office building — to hang it up in the office!
When your employees know and feel that you care, they stick around. When they are valued, they value where they are. Loyalty is personal. Caring about your employees is one of the best forms of employee development because happy and valued employees and good employees.
Caring About Your Business
A shift has been occurring in the workplace where people don’t stay at companies for more than a year or two. Loyalty to one’s employer is at an all time low. Part of this is understandable. Many companies aren’t afraid to lay off employees when it’s time to cut the budget. Then the remaining employees receive an increased workload and also realize that their job isn’t very secure.
Unfortunately, dishonesty is common practice. An employee may use a potential promotion as leverage for another job offer or vice versa. It’s a game where self-interest rules.
In seasons three’s Branch Closing episode, the Vice President announces to Michael that his branch will be closing and some of the staff will be absorbed into the Stamford, Connecticut branch. Outraged, Michael fights it and even tries to confront the CFO to change his mind.
Meanwhile, the Stamford manager, Josh, was being groomed for upper management. We find out at the end of the episode that Josh was simply using the upcoming promotion to leverage the pay for another position. During the episode, he accepts the offer from the other company in the middle of the process putting everyone in a very difficult position.
When all of this goes occurs, Jim (one of the main characters) says, “Say what you will about Michael Scott, but he would never do that.”
Why would Michael never do that? Because he cared about his company. He cared about the well being of his peers, staff, and the well being of the business. He never would backstab a business trying to help him succeed. He even didn’t badmouth the company when the board voted to shut down his branch.
- Is Michael Scott immature? Yes. Would he be a pain to work for and a difficult person to manage? Absolutely!
- But, he possesses a quality that many people don’t. He cares.
- He cares about his clients — and potential clients — his staff, and the business he works for. He doesn’t let business ruin personal relationships. He actually uses it to build a depend those relationships.
- He doesn’t burn bridges over offenses. He demonstrates to his employees that he is invested in them and their wellbeing even though he doesn’t know how to act upon those things appropriately.
- Be like Michael Scott and give caring more a try.