I’m a huge comic book fan. And for me, Batman ranks just about as high as any superhero could, making him my favorite DC hero by FAR. Which brings me to the show Gotham.
To be honest, I was skeptical at first, thinking, “How good could this show be without Batman? And what can boring ole Jim Gordan give me as the main protagonist?”
Boy, was I wrong! After finally caving in, I watched the pilot episode, and I WAS HOOKED! The show turned out to be nothing like I envisioned. And more importantly, for the first time, I saw a portrayal of Gotham city that fully demonstrates the dire NEED for Batman.
To put it bluntly, Gotham is a Hellhole. It is a city without hope, one where even the wealthiest and most well protected can fall victim to a horrific end. But worse than that, there is only ONE man who is fighting for righteousness, and that’s Jim Gordon.
You see, Jim’s new to Gotham and is still going through a bit of an adjustment to the city during his time of transition. He sees the world more in the terms of black and white with no gray. And, as a combat veteran and war hero, he’s seen some horrific things, and his frame of thinking was still “us vs them”. He doesn’t yet get that there exists a reality outside of his limited scope of vision.
Jim started his job thinking that he would be able to rise through the ranks by simply doing a “good job.” As a detective, he believes that if he sticks to the letter of the law in his pursuit of justice, he will be able to close more cases, put more criminals behind bars, and gain the proper recognition that comes along with a job well done.
But Jim has a problem, one that maybe you can identify with.
You may not have been a war hero, but you worked hard in high school and college, earning great grades. You may have belonged to a couple of clubs, but for the most part, you didn’t particularly have a social life. Maybe it was because you were focused solely on your GPA or maybe it was because you didn’t know how, but your reality then was that social skills didn’t really matter as much because as long as you tested well, your GPA would shine. But now, as you begin your corporate day job, you realize that the things you did to be successful scholastically just won’t cut it at this level.
Here’s the deal. Whether you’re fighting crime on the streets of Gotham or ambitiously climbing the ladder of success in the office, there are three things that you MUST do if you want to achieve your goals.
1. UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A GAME BEING PLAYED AROUND YOU
Peep this conversation from the pilot episode between Jim and his partner Harvey
Harvey: Listen, kid. You got juice. Do me a favor. Ask for a transfer.
Jim: Sorry. This is where the action is. You’ll get used to me.
Harvey: Jim, you seem like a nice guy, but this is not a city or a job for nice guys. You understand?
Jim: No
Harvey: And that’s your problem.
As we can see, Harvey encourages Jim to find a job in another city. But Jim couldn’t see this. Now, to be fair to Jim, it is possible that Harvey could have been partially motivated by his disdain for his new partner. But, I truly believe Harvey was trying his best to warn Jim purely for the sake of Jim’s best interest while looking out for himself in the process. Harvey knows the type of city that Gotham is and understands clearly that it is way more likely that Gotham changes Jim before Jim changes Gotham, or worse Jim dies in the process. This conversation takes place before a series of choices that Jim makes to “do the right thing”, which almost gets Jim killed.
Instead of listening, Jim being full of ambition took Harvey’s words as a challenge more than a warning.
Here’s a quick test to see if you’ve ever been in Jim’s place.
Ever heard something like
“It’s easy to get lost in a big city”
“You’re a long way from home”
“Things are different at ACME Corp”
Phrases that allude to things being categorically different from what you’re accustomed to.
Or like Jim, you’ve heard a phrase that begins with, “You seem like a nice guy/gal, but…”
Here’s a tip.
Take notice if you ever hear anything remotely suggesting that you don’t understand your new environment.
It’s very likely that taking heed to this subtle warning could be the thing that either improves or destroys your chances to make before packing up your brown box and going elsewhere.
2. IDENTIFY THE POWER PLAYERS AND GET A FEEL FOR THEIR REACH
It’s all about JUICE!!!
The person with the most juice calls the shots. The hard part, though, is identifying who that person might be. This is because juice is determined more by influence than it is by title or position. Sure, your manager has direct authority over you, but it’s possible that a secretary in an entirely different department has more to say about whether or not you keep your job.
Here’s what you have to know about juice.
The more juice a coworker or boss has, the more strategic you need to be in order to build an alliance, but, more importantly, to avoid pissing them off.
Few things are worse than being the target of a power player.
Let’s go back to Jim for a second.
Jim knew about organized crime boss Don Falcone and was vaguely aware of Fish Mooney (my secret crush), but he knew about them in name only. He didn’t really understand what it meant for them to sit as the power players in Gotham.
Don Falcone RUNS Gotham. PERIOD. Meaning, nothing happens, including the killing of a couple of cops by his lieutenant Fish Mooney, without his approval. And if you attempt to cross him, there will be consequences. And everything costs, including favors.
Jim didn’t get all of this. He went alone to confront Fish Mooney about the framing of an innocent man for the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne, which leads to him being almost killed by her Butch, her right hand. That is until Falcone shows up.
Jim later finds out that his life isn’t cheap and is ordered by his partner Harvey to complete a hit on Penguin. Jim fakes the murder, but it’s at that moment that he realizes that he’s got to be smart about how he does his job going forward.
Here’s how you identify the people with juice at your office and observe their reach risk-free.
The next time you happen to be near the copier, listen to some of the conversations. See who your coworkers deem to be people the company can’t succeed without. Find out the goto people are for both work related and office politic advice. As you walk around the office during the work day, see if you can find out who the people are who are seemingly always with upper management, including eating lunch. Find out whose offices are in close proximity to company execs and whose offices are farther away.
Learn from Jim. Don’t let the reach of your coworkers catch you off guard. Remember, juice isn’t hard to spot, and once you do, it’s best to overestimate the power to do you harm and underestimate their power to help. That way, you’re mentally prepared for both the best and worst case scenarios, which leads us to the third and final thing you must do to be successful.
3. LEARN THE “PROGRAM” — THE RULES OF THE GAME
The program is simply how things work, and to quote Don Falcone, “There ARE rules.”
Fish Mooney broke a rule when she tried to have Jim and Harvey killed. Her ambition got the best of her, and consequently, she was humbled. Jim broke a rule when he went in alone to expose a joint coverup between Gotham PD and the mob. His ambition got the best of him, and like Fish Mooney, he too was humbled.
As a new person on the job, it’s important to find out how things work within the context of your company or industry’s culture. It is most important to learn what to do and what not to do so that you can prevent career suicide.
Now, this is part is very important.
You CAN’T win without knowing the rules.
Here’s another risk-free method that you can use to learn the game.
Study the Power Players.
That’s it.
Watch how they interact with the people around them. Note what you see. Listen to what they say and gauge the responses of the other people in the conversation.
If you want to learn the program, understand that Juice leaves clues.
LET’S RECAP AND BRING IT ALTOGETHER
Understand that there is a game being played around you
Identify the power players and get a feel for their reach
Learn “The Program” — The rules of the game
Once you come to understand that there is a game being played, the key players and the rules, all that is left is to play.
I’m curious to know about your office experiences. Tell me how these three keys resonate with you and any success you’ve had while implementing them along the way. Go ahead and comment below. I read every one.