Mad Men is a series set in the advertising business of the 1960s. It is not one for anyone trying to give up smoking, as the characters spend all day smoking and drinking in the office. It portrays the sexism of the era perfectly, but it also leaves us with some important business lessons and raises some interesting business dilemmas.
As I did a while ago with Breaking Bad, I noted down several quotes and their context, drawing something positive from them for the business world or for life in general.
1. On opportunity
“Some snakes go a long time without eating, and when they finally get the chance to eat, they swallow so much food that they end up choking.”
During a negotiation, the main character is offered a career opportunity, and he takes it without asking for much. When he is asked why he didn’t push harder, this is his answer.
Many people spend so many years being poor or stuck in a low-level job that, when their moment comes, they become too greedy or ask for too much, and end up failing in the attempt.
2. On people and intuition
“People tell us who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who we would like them to be.”
Many of the disappointments we suffer in business, or in life in general, were easy to see coming and are the product of self-deception. Most of the time, when our partner turns out not to be who we thought, if we look back, the truth is that we already knew something wasn’t right, but we chose to believe it was.
Companies make the same mistake because of the well-known commitment biases: “since I’ve already invested time and money in this person…”.
3. On teamwork
“Individual play wins games, but team play wins championships.”
This is the reply the star ad man gets when he thinks he can do without the rest of the staff because he is number one. And it is true that every organisation should encourage teamwork: you can achieve temporary success on your own, but lasting success is only achieved collectively.
(Read: When company leaders believe they deserve what they haven’t yet earned)
4. On talent
“Talent is only a tiny part of success. The rest is work and sacrifice.”
As the saying goes, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. The only way to beat a talented person is to work harder than they do.
If a talented person lets their guard down or becomes lazy, their talent is worth nothing.
5. On decisions
“You could choose between dishonour and war. You chose dishonour, and so you will have war.”
When the main character faces a choice between betraying his ideals or saying NO to the deal, he chooses to say NO. Either way, he would end up at war with one client or another.
Sometimes, in business, we only have two ways out: compete, or compete. There are no deals and no truces. All that is left is to prepare for war.
Further reading
- 10 wise business and leadership lessons from the best executive of the 20th century
- Breaking Bad: 7 powerful business lessons
Featured image: Dominick D, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
