Recently I watched The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man, the 2018 documentary about the great man himself. The documentary recounts tales of Bill being a happy go lucky guy, gate-crashing parties, joining in on random softball parties and going to dinner parties of people he vaguely knows, turning up announced. The stories and the video clips are hilarious. But the real underlining truth of all the stories and good deeds that Bill Murray does are that he gives back to people, he wants to know who people really are, what you do, where you are from and what you purpose in life is. He lives in the now – enjoys the moment for what it is and makes the most of every situation even if he can do someone good turn, like appearing in a low budget short movie for college students to give them a helping hand along he’ll do that too. Another interesting observation is that his improv style and his ability survive, adapt and thrive and many different elective social situations is utterly amazing.
This documentary got me thinking. What can business learn from Bill Murray and the way he lives his life? In my point of view quite a lot actually. The fact that he lives in the NOW and is present in so many situations is something we could really learn from now. We are all so concerned with Covid19, its impact on our businesses that we can lose sight of many things we should be dealing with at this time like checking in with friends, family and business associates. We can also learn a lot from Bill and his ability to GIVE BACK to the ordinary person. As a star he could very easily live in a bubble and enjoy his success. He chooses to get out and interact and deal with everyday people and this makes a big impact on their lives. In business, a successful entrepreneur should at these times seek out and help struggling entrepreneurs and give back by coaching and helping them. Also, everyone in business can learn something from his ability to really take the time to really get to know the people he meets and what motivates them and makes them tick. What he is really doing here is getting to learn what their purpose is. Applying this to business, rather than simply seeking profit from client’s businesses should really put extra effort to understand the motivation and purpose of the people and companies they call clients. As well as getting a deeper connection with them they will be better able to service them going forward and ultimately increase their company’s success (and bank balance). Finally, Bill Murray as the King of Improv and adapt and change to circumstance. I am reading into this for business that you need to invest heavily in emotional intelligence, learn how to read situations with employees, clients and colleagues and ensure you act accordingly to motivate, meet and satisfy their requirements.
Finally, do watch this documentary, if nothing else it is a great, uplifting one full of uplifting and inspirational yarns!