In the hit 90s film, The Fugitive, Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble, a brilliant doctor falsely framed for killing his wife. After being convicted, a shackled Kimble is sent off to death row on a prison bus. During a daring escape, Kimble and another prisoner escape – by out-jumping a train – and so begins a man-hut for the escapees led by Samuel Gerard and his team of tough-talking, wise-cracking US Marshals. We can learn a lot about building our careers from Gerard, Kimble and the cast of characters in the film. Here’s are three professional lessons from The Fugitive.
Stick with your principles
Hedge-fund billionaire Ray Dalio has written a book about the importance of identifying your own principles and using those principles to govern your approach to work and life – no matter what situation you find yourself in. Such lessons apply to Richard Kimble’s approach to his life and how he goes about clearing his name. Despite being on the lam, Kimble pops up multiple times to save the lives of complete strangers (the prison bus guard, the young kid in the hospital). It’s clear that Kimble, despite being a convicted murder on the run, will retain his core principles of helping those who need medical attention. In the short-term this commitment may be risky. But over the long term sticking to his principles will yield results – slowly, such consistently heroic behaviour leads Gerard to be convinced there’s something “hinky” about Kimble’s conviction. Ultimately, you need to be true to yourself and it is your principles that make up the systems that govern who you are and the behavior that you will demonstrate. Stick with your principles no matter how inconvenient they may seem in the moment.
Always persist
When the police and guards initially arrive at the scene of the train accident, it’s assumed that Richard Kimble perished in the crash. The police on the scene are resistant to putting in the extra work (and alarming folks in the surrounding county) to track down a fugitive who they think is probably already dead. It doesn’t take long for Deputy Gerard and his crew of US Marshals to prove the local police chief wrong (when they discover leg irons, sans legs at the crash site). Fast forward 30 odd minutes later and again Gerard is again being told to fold it in by the locals after Kimble does “a Peter Pan” off a massive dam. Again Gerard perseveres and is proven right when Kimble surfaces in Chicago a short time later. Harnessing your grit and persisting with your goal – no matter the pressure you are under – is a great characteristic and one which you’ll want to embed into your approach in work and life.
Your management >>> Sam Gerard
Samuel Gerard is a great US Marshal. He’s focused, smart and committed to getting his man. But he’s a real jerk when it comes to managing his people. Gerard’s approach seems to be a mix of egotistical authoritarianism and micro-management. When he almost blows the head off one of his own team members during the botched capture of the other fugitive, Gerard’s lack of compassion for a colleague, who is evidently suffering from PTSD, is chilling. Equally noticeable is his gruff manner and apparent willingness to micromanage his team members in just about any scenario. It’s clear his people really love him – but what’s a bit unclear to me is why, especially given his treatment of them. While he’s obviously a great manhunter, channel the opposite when it comes to managing people. Listen to them, empower them and utilize their skills – don’t just bark orders and be huffy.