courtesy: 3.bp.com
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5 Lessons in Business Success from the Master of Improvisation Himself: MacGyver! (Business Article & Video)
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For anyone who grew up in America in the 1980s and 1990s, or anyone living in one of the over 70 countries where the classic, multi Emmy Award winning television series appeared in either first-run production or syndication, one legendary and iconic name remains synonymous with overcoming adversity and succeeding through improvisation and wit: MacGyver!
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The plot of every episode goes something like this: Macgyver, played by Richard Dean Anderson, is sent by the fictional Phoenix Foundation to carry out a secret mission in enemy territory. The mission usually involves rescuing somebody held captive together with stopping madmen intent on mass-destruction. Terrorists, dictators, drug-lords, maniacal, rogue arms-dealers, Soviets (remember, we’re talking Cold-War era here). And…MacGyver, or a protagonist good-guy, midway through each episode, becomes a hostage or finds him or herself trapped in an un-winnable, inescapable situation. All hope seems lost.
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But, just when MacGyver’s obituary is on the verge of being written, through ingenuity, shrewdness, cunning, gumption, dexterity, wit, an amazing dose of improvisation and through the ingenious use of the limited resources and simple tools at his disposal, MacGyver manages to extricate himself from the doomful, bleak situation and win the day!
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Yup, it’s all the stuff which had an entire country joking around saying stuff like "I have a piece of gum, a spool of thread, an empty Coke bottle and a paper clip. I think I’ll make an atomic bomb!" It is what made the show a hit, endearing to the viewing public and made MacGyver a pop-culture icon, catch-phrase and cliche for ingenuity and the human-spirit!
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Perhaps never before in the annals of human endeavor (real or fictional) has one cheesy, quirky and nerdy businessperson accomplished so much with so little!
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courtesy:obsessedwithfilm.com
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A Few "MacGyver-Isms":
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The following MacGyver clips are courtesy of the CBS Television Network. In each, Macgyver demonstrates his legendary cunning, prowess and ingenuity. Each is preceded by a short advertisement…my apologies!
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Season 1, "The Pilot": MacGyver is sent to rescue a group of scientists trapped in a top-secret New Mexico weapons facility. MacGyver uses a chocolate bar to stop a leak of sulfuric-acid. He is well aware that when sugar mixes with sulfuric-acid, it forms a sticky, gum-like paste. He then uses the remaining resin, sodium from a cold-pill and water to create a bomb which blows a hole in the wall and frees the good guys.
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Season 2, "The Ugly Duckling": MacGyver finds himself assisting a young, naive computer hacker who has gotten herself mixed up with black-market arms dealers. Having freed the girl, he must stop the villains who are now ready to launch a deadly missile; the countdown is on! All Macgyver has to work with are parts of an old Jeep, foliage and the sun:
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courtesy: thisnext.com
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Business Lessons Abound:
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So what can we as modern-day businesspeople learn from MacGyver? Plenty I believe! We may never need to face down megalomaniacal, hell-bent, third-world dictators. But in our everyday business travails, I believe there are relevant and applicable principles we can borrow which can help us on the path to success:
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1) Never Forget the Tools at Your Disposal! MacGyver never went anywhere without his trusted Swiss Army pocket-knife. It is an instrument with an amazing assortment of useful tools. Remember the tools that you carry: your education, your training, your experience, your acumen, your imagination, your ideas and your wit. They are tools which are there for the using!
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2) Never Underestimate the Power of Ingenuity! The human mind is the greatest resource we have available to succeed in business. Concentration, perseverance and adversity are the well-springs and catalysts for all great ideas! Every problem has a solution…it’s just a matter of finding it.
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3) Remember Einstein and His Famous Quote: "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Knowledge is a critical component of success, but having imagination allows a person to surpass the bounds and limitations of the ordinary and become extraordinary!
I’m sure that MacGyver was also a believer in Robert F. Kennedy’s famous quote "Some people see things as they are and ask ‘Why?’ I see things that never were and ask ‘Why not?’"
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4) Limited Resources Do Not Need to Spell Defeat! In the world of small-business, we often find ourselves working with limited resources and limited funds. "Bootstrapping" is a term often applied to businesses which start on limited budgets and with no external sources of assistance. It requires ingenuity, resourcefulness and wise investment and expenditures. It means being frugal and finding inexpensive sources of operation, advertising and marketing. Consider it "The MacGyver Way!"
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5) Keep a Cool Head and Think "On the Fly": Macgyver always got into situations which he never could have imagined at the outset. His reaction? He never panicked. He always kept a straight, cool head. And he always developed an effective "Plan B." It’s about discovering resourcefulness in the face of tribulation and solutions in the face of obstacles, roadblocks and problems.
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The next time you get yourself into a seemingly un-winnable, untenable business situation, ask yourself:
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courtesy: slashfilm.com
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Image credits: Swiss Army Knife: csulb.edu; Einstein: planetpinkgreen.com; books: npci.org; Head with gears: vjcc.com; Lightbulb: mixergy.com
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Yonatan Maisel is a business blogger and author. He started a business blog one year ago. 90% of his new clients now find their way to him as a direct result of having read one or more posts. Unfortunately for the foreseeable future, Yonatan is not accepting new clients. He is a regular contributor at http://www.bizsugar.com/ and here at www.jobshuk.com.