by Adam
After the sobering, tough-love realism of our last post, I’m excited to embark on a slightly more lighthearted path today. We pick up with a conversation Jim and Pam are having with the camera crew (Episode 8, Season 9 “The Target”).
Jim: “Today I will be asking David Wallace if I can start working part time, because the sports marketing company that I started really needs me to be there”
Pam: “Last week, Jim wasn’t there, and they named the company Athlead”
Jim:“I could have prevented that, so... I have to talk to Wallace”
Pam: “Tell them your opening line!”
Jim: “Hey David, how would you like a guy that’s not here as much, gets paid the same amount of salary, and has bigger fish to fry in Philadelphia?”
Pam: “I think it’s good! He likes fishing.”
“Jim: This is going to be awful”
Unlike episodes we’ve covered in previous posts, it’s good to see that Jim and Pam are on the same page this time. But, their dialogue leaves us wondering how in the world Jim will be able to pull this off.
[Jim, on the phone with David Wallace, the CEO]
Jim: “I mean I can handle any client issues from Philly”
David (CEO): “Yeah, but I really need someone in the office. I mean, if there’s a crisis...the more I think about it….”
Jim: “Oh you mean handle it in person, oh, well, Phyllis and Stanley have agreed to cover for me while I’m gone”
David (CEO): “They did?”
Jim: “Uh...yup!”
David (CEO): “Oh, ok, well that is different. In that case, yes, maybe this can work”
Jim: “Oh great!”
Unfortunately, they had not agreed to cover for him, as we soon discover.
Phyllis: “Why should we help you?”
Jim: “Because we’re friends!”
Stanley:“When is my birthday?”
Jim: “Unfair, when’s my birthday?”
Stanley: “I don’t know, because we’re not friends”
Jim: “How about this, you let me take you to lunch, and I make my case”
Stanley: “Now we’re talking”
Jim’s apparent prospects appear to fade as Phyllis and Stanley drink heavily at lunch, continue to steer conversation away from Jim’s request, and begin to take a nap in the car. But, just as they’re falling asleep, Jim gets the good news he was looking for:
Phyllis: “We’re gonna cover for you, you know”
Jim: “Phyllis, are you dreaming, or…”
Stanley: “I did enjoy grinding your beans, son”
Phyllis: “Yeah, we really did peel your grapes”
After some more heckling, Jim confirms what he heard.
Jim: “..you are going to cover for me?”
Phyllis: “Of course we are Jimmy, we love you guys”
Jim: “Thank you!”
Now, how does this conversation tie in to a broader conversation about Kevin or Adam’s thoughts on mentorship? Does Adam endorse getting drunk at business lunches? Is Kevin’s #1 CFO life hack taking mid-day stealth naps in his car?
No, I don’t get drunk at business lunches. And I’m fairly confident (although, not certain) that Kevin doesn’t nap in his car.
Instead, the relevant phenomenon I think we’re seeing is Jim leaning into his Strength Zone.
Jim faced a problem: how do I balance my current job responsibilities with the demands of my new business venture?
There is more than one way to solve that problem. If one of Jim’s strengths was extreme financial discipline, maybe he could have quit his job, or used the possibility that he may have to as leverage. If Jim had a super-human risk appetite, maybe he could have done that without a financial cushion. If Jim had made himself indispensable to his business partners, maybe he could have extracted more concessions on his work arrangement from them. If Jim had previously had a more substantial career focus in his earlier time at Dunder-Mifflin, maybe he would have built a stronger reputation, and would be in a better position to alleviate some of the CEOs concerns.
Now, I’m not saying any of those are bulletproof alternatives. But neither was the path he chose: committing the time and energy of other people who had not agreed with his plans. Jim was in a genuinely tough position.
I’m not going to condone the shoot-first, aim-later strategy that Jim had on this one. If that was his only answer to David’s predictable concern, he should have approached Phyliss and Stanley ahead of time.
But, still, it’s illuminating that Jim chose that route, and was ultimately successful.
As we’ve discussed in a previous post, Jim has a natural charisma, and is genuinely invested in being a positive force in the lives of his colleagues. He puts people first. It just comes naturally.
So, while Jim could have attempted to address this problem in other ways, he ultimately did so by operating within his strength zone, just like Kevin would have instructed him to:
“I mean, if you were only given two zones to choose from--strength or weakness--which would you choose? I suppose you don’t even need a mentor advising you on that one. If you do, I'm a little concerned about you, but glad to be of service! Strengths is the obvious choice, so why do so many young professionals remain unaware of their intangibles and--by default-- try to work within their weaknesses or the strengths of their peers? Working from your strengths is the ONLY way to reach your maximum potential.”
-Kevin from our post “In the Zone”
Couldn’t say it any better myself. So, that’s where I’ll leave it!