BOND

Started watching Casino Royale this evening and it made me think about how successful and really just how cool James Bond is.  What makes James Bond so successful? Well, here are three reasons why I think he is successful and how we can use it in today’s world.  Here we go:

1.  He knows his role.  It doesn’t take you long to realize that James Bond blends to whatever and whomever he needs to be.  He stays in his lane and when its time for others to shine he lets them.  You don’t see this often in business.  I call the opposite of these types of  people “Grand Standers”.  They are the ones that feel they need to be speaking more and louder than the next person.  In a good business meeting everyone knows their roles.  It is way more productive that way.
2. He looks the role.  I once was waiting for a gentleman to interview for a good position within the company.  As I waited I looked out the window and saw that someone was driving up.  Was this my interviewee?  I didn’t know.  This particular guy drove up in a very dirty car with a windshield so filthy that you couldn’t see in it.  He pulled right up to the building.  He got out of the car with a shirt on that was two sizes too small.  He went ahead and undid his belt to tuck his shirt in.  As he did that he pulled out his jacket and knocked the ashes from his cigarette off of it and a plume of dust flew up.  I said “surely not”.  He proceeded to walk into our lobby and asked for me.  I could hear him from around the wall.  I walked around and introduced myself.  Should I have based my first impression on what I saw through the window?  Well all I can say is that James Bond would have looked the part.  I have always been told to dress like the position you want and not the position you have… He didn’t get the job for many reasons.
3. He knows a little about a lot.  James Bond can talk to any person about anything.  I think this is critical in life.  I love to learn about new things and listen to others stories.  Its amazing the life lessons you can learn from others.  A good example of this is how I got swept up into a show on NPR the other day talking about the life of a butterfly.  It was  pretty amazing.  I thought how in the world would this help me in business but low and behold I had a conversation the other day with a person about a butterfly expo at a zoo.  You really need to stay up on current events as well and don’t hesitate to read articles or listen to shows that you don’t initially find interesting.  You may be surprised.

As a *Honorable Mention* number 4 James Bond always had a cool car.  In some shows it was an expensive Aston Martin to a little less expensive Ford Fairlane.  Whichever he drove it was always cool.  Was the car cool or did he make it cool?

Know your role, look the role, and know a little about a lot.  Always remember this life is so much fun.  God has given us a clear canvas to paint what we want.  Love life and love people.