Business Cycles give clues: AMC’s series
“Mad Men” was filled with them!
Business cycles are always giving us clues regarding what to prepare for to assure the best possible outcome. Yet, most people don’t notice them! Often, business cycles are left to a couple of people in a business. It seems everyone else blindly goes about their merry way. This usually happens when the ship is sinking too. One of the best examples of this was constantly portrayed in AMC’s TV series, “Mad Men”.
Cycles, particularly business cycles were the
predominant theme of Mad Men
Did I get your attention yet? If you were a fan, I’m sure you’re intrigued now. All the well defined characters, which we fell in love with over the years, were connected through their business connection. The characters would succeed and stumble. Their character development was connected to business events. Even Pete Campbell getting back together with his divorced wife was initially for business advancement. Click here to see article in Wall Street Journal and my comment.
Some may argue Mad Men was about people. I complete agree. People are what/who drive businesses. People are the ones making decisions, which are then owned by the business. I always find it fascinating when I hear how “Corporate America is so bad” or “business is evil”. Businesses onto themselves cannot be bad or evil. Businesses are an entity, which simply reflect the choices or decisions of people. This is fact. Mad Men was a perfect example of this.
As the 7th season of Mad Men began, I started noticing the writer was taking each character back to how we were first introduced to them. With my husband (a non-viewer) I shared my hypothesis of where the author was guiding us along this journey. He was taking us right back to the very beginning. Each main character had grown over the past 10 years. They were richer or poorer, happy or sad, dead or alive, or even lost or found.
Don: alone and “isolated”, seeking to forget his past and find a fresh beginning.
Peggy: having more authority, but struggling to gain respect, visibility, and happiness.
Sterling: building and leaving a legacy, being playful, and in love.
Joan: every man wants to take care of her, she wants love and to be respected, and her business drive is a priority.
Betty: a psychological mess (from appointments with therapists to going to college to become a therapist), smoking with lasting impact, and being a distant mother.
Pete: an emotional roller coaster when he can’t get what he wants, relentless with a goal, and he sees everything as business.
Back to Business Cycles Talk
The story lines of the above were driven through business cycles and how they reacted to whatever was occurring. We, as business owners-leaders, do the same. Just like in the program, our business’s ebbs and flows impact our personal life as well. This really is another topic. So let’s get back to the awareness of business cycles.
Business cycles give us clues as to what is happening with:
- our performance
- the business’s performance
- the customer’s needs and wants
- the marketplace’s trends
To an extent, business cycles may be predictable. Why? Business cycles are a reflection of how people are reacting and responding to situations. Ask any therapist and they will reveal how people are predictable. When certain things happen, we typically know what people are going to do or choose. Do you do this for your business?
Regardless of your title, one of your tasks is to be an observer to notice trends and cycles. Become even more observant than your are currently. Even if you only observe the 4 points above, you’ll be amazed at what you notice! Your next step is to appropriately respond to what you are observing. This is how you make wise or better business decisions. This is an important strategy to create, support, and sustain success.
Please feel free to share anything regarding how you optimize clues of business cycles and trends to create, support, and sustain YOUR business success…
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Maggie Mongan, Brilliant CEO & Founder
Brilliant Breakthroughs, Inc.
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p. s.: Every product, business, and industry has business cycles. Prices, your day planner, demand, and back orders are a reflection of your business cycles. There’s gold waiting to be discovered. Take the time. You won’t regret it!
