Don’t get me wrong, I love Batman. Since I was a little boy I have collected his comics, followed his TV shows, played his video games, and watched his movies. Though human, he possesses god-like abilities (enthusiasts debate emphatically that he would even defeat the invincible Superman in battle due to his superior intellect!). As I continue to follow his stories, Bruce Wayne’s double-life as Batman highlights some important points for us as professionals NOT to do. Here are three reasons Batman is a terrible professional role model:
1. Batman never sleeps
During the day, Bruce Wayne runs his multi-billion dollar company, Wayne Industries. By night, he dons the Bat Suit to fight Gotham’s most hardened and dangerous criminals. Even his beloved friend and butler, Alfred, constantly urges him to get enough rest. Unfortunately for us mere mortals, we actually need sleep to function optimally. Experiments have proven that the more we overwork ourselves, the less we actually get done. The reason this paradox works is that the more tired we are, the more mistakes we make. This in turn costs more time to fix than if we had done the work properly in the first place. The takeaway from this point is to ensure you get sufficient sleep (typically 8 hours/night) to perform your work optimally.
2. Batman specialises in everything
Batman is the world’s greatest detective, businessman, escape artist, acrobat, and martial artist. For regular people to specialise in even one of these areas would take a lifetime of work, practice, and talent. The usual result of trying to develop too many skills at once is becoming the “jack of all trades, master of none. ” Think about the areas where you would be better off delegating/outsourcing rather than developing proficiency, and you will save yourself countless hours of wasted effort.
3. Batman (almost) always works alone
When brawling murderous super-criminals, Batman seldom makes use of allies (mostly because he doesn’t need them!). In the real world however, he would be missing out on one of the most well-established traits of teamwork: synergy. Even if you are a super-star salesperson, remember that leveraging others in your company can exponentially increase your sales. It pays to invest in your relationships with colleagues and look for ways you can work together for the greater good of clients and the company.
Conclusion
Batman is greatly admired because though human, he accomplishes great feats through his intellect, physical superiority, and sheer willpower. He serves as a great symbol to aspire to, however we have to recognise that as human beings living in a non-fiction world, we have limitations that cannot be ignored. We need plenty of sleep, can only specialise in a few areas, and must rely on others to create synergy.
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