Michael Scott’s bumbling tactics as a regional manager of Dunder Mifflin onThe Officeare only a smokescreen to the wonderful people skills he has as a manager. One needs to take his advice with a pinch of salt, butone also cannot deny Scott’s people skills, which he leverages as a successful sales agent. However, how his superiors ever considered him fit to be a manager is still a mystery and would probably make for a fantastic reboot.
The Office (U.S.)
Every business guru and corporate bible stresses building meaningful relationships at work, but is it always possible to do so in a dog-eat-dog corporate world? Michael Scoot proved it is possible by showing up for Andy’s play and Pam’s art exhibition and investing in his employees’ personal lives. These 10 businessquotes by Michael Scottprove how he became a successful, people-friendly manager.
10"The most sacred thing I do is care and provide for my workers, my family. I give them money. I give them food. Not directly, but through the money. I heal them." Season 1, Episode 3 (2005)
In the episode “Health Care” in the first season ofThe Office US, Michael is tasked by his boss with the most sensitive task ever: to pick out a healthcare plan for his employees. This is when he sincerely takes up the assignment and makes the statement. As usual, he is clueless as to what would be the perfect plan for the office and delegates the job to Dwight, who starts finding ways to scheme the cheapest plan for everyone. One thing leads to another, and the day ends on a disappointing note for the entire office.
The line is indicative of the kind of boss Michael is. He understands the detrimental effects of saving costs on healthcare, which shows up during his conversation with his boss, Jan. In spite of the destructive nature of the work assigned to him, he takes it up like a true business leader.
9"Leader. Ship. The word ‘ship’ is hidden inside the word ‘leadership,’ as its… derivation." Season 1, Episode 11 (2006)
This pun-intended quote comes from the popular episode “Booze Cruise” in the second season. As the title of the episode suggests, the entire office is brought by Michael to a cruise for some of his motivational leadership talks. However, what unfolds is an embarrassing spell for Michael, with none of his attempts at leadership motivating the office employees.
Apart from Michael completely making a fool out of himself, his cringe attempts at being a leader arise frequently during the episode. Besides, Michael provides some sound advice to a dejected Jim, being the ideal listener. Regardless of how ignorant Michael is to everyone, his effort to unite the team and inspire them doesn’t go unnoticed.
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Even when it mostly seemed accidental, Michael Scott managed to bring results, and had earned the respect of his colleagues when he departed.
8"You may look around and see two groups here: white collar, blue collar. But I don’t see it that way, and you know why not? Because I am collar-blind." Season 2, Episode 15 (2006)
Another pun-inflicted and ironically empathetic line byMichael Scott is a lesson for everyone in the business world. “Boys and Girls,” the episode in the second season featuring the line, starts with Jan holding a seminar exclusively for women in the office. This irks Michael, and he starts his own talk with the men, integrating the other employees with those working in the warehouse. The warehouse guys are not pleased, asMichael’s actions initiate a breakdown in the entire area.
Besides the clumsy attitude, Michael’s “collar-blind” statement comes across as surprisingly mature. His nature towards the blue-collar workers in his office often serves as an example for other businesses, as he constantly drives to put them on an equal footing with others.
7"Granted, maybe this was not the best idea, but at least we care enough about our employees that we are willing to fight for them." Season 4, Episode 10 (2007)
The Officeshowcased Michael to be deeply attached to his co-workers, far greater than a regular boss. He cared for them, regardless of his childlike state of mind. Michael says the above line after a failed operation in which he tries to botch a potential poaching of one of his colleagues, Stanley, by a rival branch in the episode “Branch Wars” in the fourth season.
Stanley is not fond of the office whatsoever, yet his possible departure from the place strikes a chord with Michael. Why is it a lesson for business leaders? Michael acts as the warm-hearted boss, trying to weave a family out of the office, which is certainly a quality that leaders in a cut-throat capitalistic world could implement.
6"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy – both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." Season 6, Episode 2 (2005)
Michael says the iconic quote at the end of the sixth episode, “The Meeting,” of the second season. A series of intense antics at the office leads to Michaeloffering a promotion to sales agent Dwight, after which the latter is seemingly pleased with his boss. His employees being happy with his leadership is thus very important for Michael, which is highlighted in several instances of the show.
The quote by Michael may have had even deeper connotations as well. In a world where the harsh business methods of Steve Jobs are glorified, Michael certainly takes the opposite route. He seeks validation from his employees instead of belittling them. Sometimes, he even takes his people-pleasing habit a little too far, and the quote is representative of it. Did it make him less respectful amongst his employees? Absolutely not. Everyone got together to give the farewell he deserved in Season 7, which indicated the immense admiration and respect he garnered from his employees that he genuinely loved.
5"Do I have a special someone? Well, yeah of course. A bunch of ’em. My employees." Season 1, Episode 6 (2005)
The line said by Michael in the sixth episode of the first season, “Hot Girl,” echoes his relationship with others in the office. He is clearly fond of them, but his foolish behavior never bodes well for him. In this episode, Amy Adams guest stars as a saleswoman visiting the office to sell purses.Michael tries to woo her, but his tomfoolery does not take him anywhere near to impressing her. Eventually, he settles with the thought of his colleagues as his ‘special someone.’
Michael’s employees gradually realize Michael’s impressive leadership qualities, as he is mostlybusy with extra-curriculars apart from work. One might find this distracting, but in retrospect, his love for his employees was reflected in the games he liked to play with them, the surprise parties he threw, and the motivational pep talks in the conference room that no one asked for.
4"Adapt, react, re-adapt, apt." Season 2, Episode 4 (The Office, 2005)
“Adapt, react, re-adapt, apt” is one of the ten rules of business thatMichael explains to aspiring business student Ryan, who is also a temp at the office. Michael does so in the fourth episode of the second season, “The Fire.” Being a notable episode, it describes a usual day at the office, which only gets spiced up by a fire. As the employees gather outside the building, Michael explains to Ryan about his business principles while Dwight bids to get Michael’s attention.
Michael may have said the line with a fleeting thought, but the lesson directly applies to important business decisions. He tells Ryan to adapt to situations such as a fire and subsequently react and re-adapt to it. The last word might have been ‘act’ according to popular theory, but Michael could have rhymed it to sound sharp.
3"Somehow, I manage." Season 6, Episode 21 (2010)
Michael Scott mentions his bookSomehow I Manage, in the episode “Happy Hour” in the sixth season. The book has become popular in pop culture, with copies of it even available for sale.Michael describes the book in a fit of frustrationto the manager of a bar, Donna, who reprimands him for his unruly behavior. He even continues to describe the cover picture of the book, which has gained immense popularity withThe Officefans with time.
Meanwhile, the title of the book is an exact reference to howMichael barely manages the office, even after clearly being not fit for the role. His management skills could perhaps be an inspiration for other managers, as the Scranton branch headed by Michael consistently posted profits regardless of having a naive manager.
2"People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections. And computers are about trying to murder you in a lake. And to me the choice is easy." Season 4, Episode 3 (2007)
The temp, Ryan, has just become Michael’s boss. He tries to instill technological advancement in the office with a new website and informs everyone about new Blackberry phones being allotted to them. Out to prove Ryan wrong, Michael drives his car into a lake led by his phone’s GPS. The quote reflects the point he tries to make in the fourth season, episode “Dunder Mifflin Infinity,” in which Michael announces how the future could span out for businesses.
Michael’s prophecy is an exact situation of how the world has spanned out. While technologies likeartificial intelligence have threatened the existenceof millions of jobs, human connections and relationships still form the backbone of any functional business relationship.
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1"The people that you work with are, when you get down to it, your very best friends." Season 7, Episode 22 (2011)
“Goodbye Michael” is the last episode with Michael Scott as the branch manager. As Michael prepares to leave Scranton, he utters the poignant line that has become an everlasting quote fromThe Office.It picturizes the bond that he shared with his employees throughout the show.
Although idealistic, Michael’s quote is a lone belief that could strike a humane trace on businesses.The Officedid present various problematic elements in workplaces, but the friendships between the characters had a firm role to play in overcomingall hurdles in running a dying paper business.
