Have you ever found yourself sitting at the office, or your home office, scrolling through product listings on your favourite e-Commerce platform when you come across something that promises you perhaps the latest, state-of-the-art, the most cutting-edge and innovative features? So innovative in fact they almost make you feel like a caveman. Forcing you to secretly open up another tab and google the meaning of the description you just read? Chances are that you have. And while it may not be something annoying, it doesn’t make for the best experience. It should come as no surprise then, that even today, marketers and sales personnel are taught by experts to focus their sales pitch more on how their product helps customers, rather than on what it is or its technical features.
Having just gone through this experience recently, once again I might add, it brought back a very faint memory. The memory of a sales pitch I witnessed. Not in person, but on a screen. A pitch that would convince anyone who didn’t know him, of his intelligence, his wit, and his charm. A pitch by a certain Michael Scott, Regional Manager, Dunder Mifflin, Scranton branch.
For those of you familiar with that name, you probably have a lot of love for him, mixed with a bit of ‘weirdness factor’. For those of you who don’t recognize that name, you probably need to pause here, search for ‘The Office’ on Amazon Prime, and add this show to your watch-list right away.
A regular office life, in not so regular an office
Produced as a ‘mockumentary’ about the lives of the employees of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company’s Scranton branch, The Office features an ensemble cast portraying the different characters (not just official roles) you might find in a lot of offices.
We have the easy-going prankster. The highly motivated and ambitious sales rep. The strictly play-by-the-rules stickler. The office gossip. The well-read one. The quiet and reserved one. The office drunk. The food enthusiast. The miscreant always up to something shady. Even the one guy whose role isn’t clear to most. Led by the courageous Michael Scott, a well-intentioned boss, whose humour, although meant to be innocent, causes more damage than laughs. All together making for what some might, for good reason, call a hostile, and hilarious work environment. An environment whose employees one might say would be subject to more than a few lawsuits in today’s day. But that’s a story for another day. For now, we’re on the other side of the camera, where The Office makes for nothing but a lot of laughs, and in hindsight, a few teachable moments as well.
Work, and life lessons from The Office
Can a show that is as entertaining as The Office also be insightful? I’d like to think so. With something to take away not just for your next sales pitch or board meeting, but also for your own life. Oh, and if you haven’t watched this show yet, you may be in for some spoilers.
- Don’t sell a product. Sell a story.
Early on in the series, Michael is under pressure from his then boss to close a deal, that looked certain to get away from them. Michael somehow, brilliantly, closes this deal in his favour. Not by selling their product. Not by matching discounted prices. But by telling his company’s story that fits with his client’s world. The story of a small player, a part of the community they both grew up in, fighting against the big guys. He sold himself, his values and his company’s story to this client more than his product. Which in turn led to the client buying his product. - Learning from experience is more fun, and memorable, than learning in a classroom
One of the episodes in series begins with Dwight Schrutte conducting a fire drill in the office. The only catch, instead of a simulation, he actually starts a fire to make this an authentic learning experience. Needless to say, this didn’t end well. This, just one week after a failed classroom fire safety session he carries out on PowerPoint. In his own words “PowerPoint is boring. People learn in lots of different ways, but experience is the best teacher.”
You can’t really argue with that logic, even though his method was more than questionable, and downright dangerous. People learn in different ways. People tend to pay more attention while practicing something in a series of steps, instead of just reading those steps. And more and more people are starting to accept that with different techniques like simulations and gamification being increasingly used across institutions to make learning and trainings more effective. - Selling by experience
As important as learning, in any business, is selling. Which is in itself an art. As demonstrated by Jim and Dwight on multiple sales pitches. Whether it involves going in as ‘loving’ brothers when meeting with any family-owned business. Or pitching in their always available customer service by actually dialling in – and instantly getting through their customer service number in the middle of the pitch, while a competitor still had them on hold for minutes.
Just like an experience makes a bigger impact when learning or training, it can have a bigger impact even in selling. As anyone who has purchased a car would know. There is no way he makes the purchase without a test drive. Or for that matter, even electronics to an extent. These are products that thrive on selling by experience. - Don’t be an idiot
Perhaps one of the best, and the simplest lessons you’ll get from Dwight Shrute. Don’t be an idiot. “Whenever I’m about to do something, I think ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing.”
It cannot be simpler. Almost puts a new twist to the phrase ‘Put yourself in someone’s shoes.’ How often have you found yourself make a mistake, which in hindsight seems obvious, making you question how you could make such a mistake in the first place. I know I have. More than I would care to admit. And almost every time, at least in my experience it’s a matter of taking a step back, and asking yourself, “Would an idiot do that?” And if the answer is yes, having the judgment to not do it. - Negotiate
Another skill that is more an art. An art not everyone is cut out for. An art that is, contrary to popular belief, more than just haggling. But understanding your value, and your product’s value. Not to you. But to your counterpart whom you are engaging in a negotiation battle. As demonstrated once again by our fearsome leader, Michael when negotiating with his old boss at Dunder Mifflin (Spoiler alert: when Dunder Mifflin is looking to buy out Michael’s new company). Giving us one of those rare moments that show how good he really is. What’s interesting in his negotiation is that he knows his value not only to the company with which he is negotiating. But also to the individual representing the company on a personal level. And in a stroke of genius, that is his leverage to negotiate his way to a win. - Taking life only as seriously as it needs to be
Just like Dunder Mifflin has Jim, it’s more than likely your team has a prankster as well. The one person everyone goes to for a joke or a prank. And that can really be a relief in what are otherwise stressful days. Especially when you consider the impact the last 18 months have had on most of us, maybe we all need to loosen up a bit.
Now, don’t get me wrong, when a job needs to be completed, there’s no way around it. But there’s a time for serious work, and a time to just sit back. With the distinction between the two becoming increasingly blur, it’s perhaps time to take a step back, breathe, and relax. After all, if Team USA can give a gymnast some time off in the middle of the Olympics, it’s possible that the PPT that’s kept up all night can wait till the morning. - Don’t miss out on the good old days
Delivered as a punch in the series finale by Ed Helms, something that can make you rethink everything you’ve done, and everything you’re doing today. “I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.”
This might just be me, but it was a dialogue that took me back. Never before had I thought that taking a cab to the office through the Mumbai traffic would be something I would consider a part of my ‘good old days’. But that is where I am, like many others, after spending over a year under lockdown and restricted movements. At what point do we stop and consider that we are living what we would probably call our good old days. And more importantly, at what point do we start making the most of these days.
I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.
Andy Bernard (Ed Helms)
The Office
More than just a comedy
Despite being a comedy, The Office is a nine-year emotional roller-coaster. The growth of the characters, the maturity they achieve, the bonds and relations they form, the entire lives, almost feel like the lives of your own friends who you deeply care about. To the extent that you almost celebrate every milestone of these characters, including both, their professional achievements and their personal growth. Even the most annoying characters. In fact, it just might be these annoying ones who you end up celebrating the most.
A slow start at the office
For all its brilliance, I have to admit that when I started The Office on the recommendation of a friend, I had my reservations. And even started to doubt the said friend’s judgment. But despite its slow start, it’s a series that can have you hooked for nine seasons. The Office presents one of those rare moments that can make you feel glad for watching a show. Especially as you approach its bitter-sweet end. Or that might just be me. Whatever it is, it does not change the fact that The Office till date, remains a highly underrated show. And while you may have second thoughts when you start this show, it’s one of those shows difficult to let go.
