Lessons from sci-fi that you can apply to any career

Being a Geeky Fangirl, there’s no way around my drawing parallels between real life and sci-fi/fantasy. It just is. So, today, I’ve rounded up very valuable career advice, no matter your field, from the likes of Star Wars, Stargate Universe, and Milla Jovovich. Why?

Well, lots of people think HR sucks, which is largely the fault of many people who practice it. This notion of a bunch of rule-bound killjoys didn’t come out of nowhere. When I first stepped into my current job, the first thing I’d start hearing when I came down the hall was, “Uh-oh, here comes the HR Nazi.” (snicker, ha ha) To which I’d respond, “That’s Borg Queen to you, dude.”

That at least got their attention. I’ve since been very aware of how this role is perceived and what I can do to reform that image. Along the way, I’ve identified lessons learned from science fiction that are easily applicable to any career. These lessons can certainly be found in other genres, but I’m a GenX Geek. Sci-fi is the language of my people.

Lesson 1 - A fabulous pair of boots always improves job performance.
Looking fabulous = feeling fabulous = POWER. Can you imagine Uhuru without the boots? Seriously. Would she have been able to work it while wearing loafers? I think not.

Or Alice in Resident Evil. (Some call this horror; but weapons-grade zombie virus is sci-fi in my book.) Yeah, Milla Jovovich would be fabulous wearing a Hefty bag and Crocs, but you knew she was going to mess zombies up the minute you saw those moto boots.

And don’t even try to tell me that those Jedi boots aren’t responsible for giving Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi his killer bounce in The Phantom Menace. In fact, that killer bounce is the only thing TPM has going for it. If only he’d used it on Jar Jar.

Lesson 2 - Even if you really are the expert, you have to be charming.
Nobody likes a know-it-all. The only reason we wanted C3PO to be well was because it would make R2 woefully sad if he weren’t. Threepio is like the snotty cousin we always tricked into looking at the cool thing in the back corner of Grandma’s basement. Once he did, we’d run out and lock him in with nothing but jars of pickles. He was that annoying.

Now take Leeloo from The Fifth Element. She is the smartest person in the history of forever. Not only does she know everything that’s ever happened (after mere hours on a computer), but she also knows everything that’s going to happen; and she’s here to save us all. Talk about annoying!

But instead of wanting to lock her in the back of the basement with the pickles, I want to be her BFF. I know that (once she learned English) she could lecture me on everything from the socio-political climate of 13th century China to quantum physics. Despite that know-it-all cred, I still want to be around her because she also guffaws loudly, shamelessly crams her cake hole when she’s hungry, and cries when others are in pain. Charm and humor will take you miles toward making sure your expertise is heard and valued.

Lesson 3 - If you are really cocky, you also need to have a really big heart.
Han Solo. That’s all I need say. (He shot first, by the way. Just throwing that out there.)

Lesson 4 - You need to upset the boss when it really matters.
I’ve made no secret of my fangirling Camille Wray on Stargate Universe. This, in part, is due to the fact that the only other HR character on TV is Toby from The Office. Every HR person on the planet has an Inner Toby. His expression reveals: ABJECT DEFEAT. We’ve all been there. But at the end of the day, Toby is a corporate drone with issues majeur (and very likely has a cat named Pam).

But Camille Wray actually represents. On the most recent episode, she steps front and center into the quagmire of who gets a spot on the survivor shuttle and who gets to die when the ship flies into a star. The moment she appears in Colonel Young’s doorway, he gives her that irritated, “What?” followed by a tense, unpleasant exchange about how to choose the survivors. On a pure audience level, I was riveted. On a Lessons Learned from Sci-Fi level, I laughed because I’ve been on the receiving end of that “What?” when showing up in the boss’ doorway during difficult times to present my ideas. But if I’m not upsetting the boss with my unsolicited, sometimes forceful, opinion on the big stuff, I’m not doing my job. Once HR becomes an upper management lapdog, the company flounders.

However, I do try to implement Lesson 2 (be charming!) on a daily basis, which ensures that the boss always saves me a seat among the survivors, even if I get all up in his grill now and again. (And, please, no yipping at the boss when you can handle it yourself. Save those silver bullets.)

Lesson 5 - You need a clear vision coupled with the right incentives.
Let’s go back to Star Wars. (I always do.) Stormtroopers can’t hit the broad side of a barn. Why? It’s not because they’re clones or because they’re bad guys and have to lose. It’s because they can’t see! Short of that, what do you need? The Force! Yet over the course of several years, nobody teaches the Stormtroopers how to hone their intuition or even to take off the blinders so they can see what they’re supposed to be aiming at.

On the other hand, Boba Fett nearly always succeeds, even though his vision is equally, if not more, obscured. But what do we know about Boba Fett, even though we never see his face? He’s always thinking! Every time you see him you immediately recognize that he’s working things out. He’s standing just off to the side, sussing out the situation, and then BOOM there’s Han in a big block of carbonite. Why? Big fat bank roll from Jabba! Boba Fett always has his goal front and center in his mind. We know what motivates him. What motivates Stormtroopers? Fear of being throttled by the boss.

Lesson 6 - Put down the Crackberry. Just for a little while.
“Open the pod bay door, HAL!”

“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Your phone wants you to know that you have work email. But it’s Sunday morning. You don’t need to check it. No, you don’t. Really. You can ignore the phone. If somebody you love is dying, you won’t find out via work email. If the world is ending, you’ll feel that coming on very shortly, I promise. There’s no reason to pick up that phone and see which of your co-workers is emailing you on a Sunday morning.

Instead, eat some bacon. Better yet, go out for breakfast with your spouse, your kids, your friends, your parents, your grandma, whoever. Don’t let your smart phone outsmart you by robbing you of time with those who are real and human and keep you that way. Don’t be like Dave. Keep your techno-tools in their place. If they get out of line, show ‘em who’s boss.

And then go by some fabulous boots.