Career lessons from the season finale of Mad Men

I watched the season finale of Mad Men last night and I loved it. I squealed at last three times and yayed my heart out when Joan came back. The basic storyline was that Sterling Cooper was being sold to McCann Erickson, and the Sterling Cooper partners wanted out. So over the course of a weekend, they hatched a secret plan to get fired from their current contracts and steal key talent, clients and supplies so they could start fresh.

The episode was so incredible I watched it again tonight and took away the following lessons about life at the office:

1. Be a hard worker first. Be likable second.
Pete is agonizing to watch. He's so awkward and desperate and intense. In the previous episode, Lane the British boss man passed him over for the Head of Accounts position, choosing Kenny instead. Lane said Pete looks like he's working too hard at it. But wait, don't you want someone who works really hard? So it made sense when Don and Roger picked Pete to be the accounts man for the rogue agency. Pete's not the guy you're going to be friends with outside of the office, but you know he's going to work hard and be loyal.

2. But working hard isn't enough.
Not everyone who wants a promotion gets it -- no matter how hard they work. And not everyone who gets a promotion deserves it. It's kind of like landing a job. So if you work really hard and want a promotion like Pete, or you build up the courage to ask for a raise like Peggy, you need a backup plan because there's a good chance it won't work out.

The day Don and Roger asked Pete to go AWOL with them, Pete had an interview with Ogilvy. And after Don turned down Peggy's request for a raise, she talked to Duck about moving to Grey Advertising. Duck even gave her a fancy Hermes silk scarf to make her swoon. She should totally sell that on Ebay.

3. Your skill set is your best bargaining tool.
Lane jumped the British ship to go rogue with Don, Roger and the others. They needed him because he knows how to run a company, manage money and cut costs. None of the others know how to do that, so he negotiated to get his name in the lobby. In the same way, Harry, who started the television department, basically invented his own title and job description. He has no idea what he's doing, but no one else knows that. So he got to go along for the ride too. I still don't know if he's smart or just lucky.

4. We're all nervous poodles. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
When Peggy said to Don, "You just assume I'll do whatever you say. Just follow you, like some nervous poodle," I realized that everyone on Don's creative team is a nervous poodle. Not just Peggy. The reason why they act like that -- and why I'm like that myself sometimes -- is because there's a level of respect that comes with having a leader you look up to.

I'm a little bit anxious (okay, sometimes I'm really anxious) when I present ideas and I think that's a good thing. It means I'm working with people whose opinions actually matter to me, and I care about doing a good job. Having said that though, poodles still need to pick their battles. Two of the best scenes were when Pete and Peggy made Don spell out just how much he values them.

5. Nobody cares if you take a sick day.
Well, they're probably concerned for a nanosecond. But the point is that you shouldn't have to cough into the handset when you're calling in, or practice a gravelly voice before you start dialing. Pete called in sick so he could interview at Ogilvy and when Don and Roger stopped by, he put on a bed gown and scruffed up his hair to keep up the act. They didn't give a crap.

5. Be a good idea to have around.
When the team was preparing to rob and pillage the office for supplies, no one had a clue where anything was. So Roger called Joan, who rallied the team and the movers. When Don saw her, he smiled and said, "Joan. What a good idea."

A lot of people have made note that when Joan came in that day, it was the first time in three seasons that she'd worn pants. But if you think about it, isn't it Joan who wears the pants in the office anyway?

Comments

[J]

I looooved the episode! Can't wait for Joan and Roger to get back together... and wasn't it sad when betty was on the plane? She still looks miserable.