Office Space: Business Lessons to Live by

“It looks like you’ve been missing a lot of work lately Peter.” --The Bob's

“Well I wouldn’t say I’ve been missing it Bob!” --Peter Gibbons

Did you know there are life and business lessons a plenty in the movie Office Space?

My Labor Day evening was spent watching this timeless classic on HBO and I can’t help but remind myself and all of my wonderful readers about some business lessons from Peter Gibbons, Michael Bolton, Sameer, Milton, and yes even Bill Lumberg.  And the above photo is myself and friends at our good buddy Bob's wedding.  In honor of the Office Space Bob's and Bob and his wedding...here we go!

1)Our careers are not meant to have us stare at computer screens all day.  Peter said this at the end and it rings true still today!  Go meet with your clients, see them face to face!  If it is a nice day take a walk for your lunch break, go do some work from a laptop at a coffee shop while enjoying a fresh cup of coffee.  You don’t have to be staring at the walls of your cubicle all day long.  MAKE YOUR CLIENTS REMEMBER YOUR FACE NOT YOUR EMAIL SIGNATURE!

2)Play the game of life with your set of rules.  We play every moment of our lives at times by what everyone else tells us to do.  Decide for yourself what is most important.  Peter got promoted for it instead of fired because he stopped playing scared.

3)If you cheat it will catch you in the end…unless you have a crazy mumbling disgruntled employee burn your building down at just the right moment!

4)Do something you love…find your hot dog stand!  Peter’s is construction, Joanna, Kung Fu, fishing, and Dos Equis with Lawrence.  And he does it every day.  What’s yours?

5)Traffic sucks…it’s worth finding something that you can avoid rush hour, traffic jams, or even better live so close that you can bike or walk to work.  I honestly am the least stressed person at my company and I believe part of it is the location of my residence being two blocks from the radio station.

6)The Geto Boys flat out rule.  

What are the business lessons from Office Space?

[Office Space and Hot Dog Stand Marketing go together like Ketchup and Mustard]

Go see your clients face to face, make creative collaboration on ideas, be honest, laugh, smile, work your butt off in your own way, but don’t be afraid to play by your rules sometimes.  Oh and find that hot dog stand, it will make your life that much better.

Do you have a favorite Office Space moment or business lesson?  Leave it in the comments…

Carpe Diem!

Mike