Today I have the pleasure of introducing a guest post from my friend Jeffrey Allen. Jeff is quite the critical thinker and can make even the Batman or Superman question interesting and insightful. Take it away Jeff!
I like to ask a simple question of everyone I do business with. It gives me a bit of insight into how they think, and possibly how they do business. My question is this: If you had to choose one, who would you rather be Batman or Superman? Now you’re probably thinking what do comic book superheroes have to do with business? Well, before we get to that let me start by answering my own question, and my answer is: Batman.
Build a reliable network
Part of what makes Batman as effective a crime fighter as he is comes from the vast network of reliable information sources he’s cultivated. Everyone from the common “Joe” on the street to super-hackers and underworld bad guys. His stream of relevant, reliable information allows him to monitor his competition and always be working on new things while still keeping an eye on the present.
Know your competition
Batman studies every aspect of the people he interacts with, everyone from business partners to super villains. He studies what they do, and how they respond in certain situations. He examines all the information he can find about them noting their individual strengths and weakness.
Do something with what you learn
Batman is proactive, not reactive. Because he took the time to learn about his competitors he can formulate a business plan and a strategy based around the knowledge he gained from understanding his competitors, and from matching that up against his own strengths and weaknesses. Think of it as a solution to how should he deal with them if he has to.
Discipline, dedication, desire
The attribute that makes Batman so formidable is his discipline. He is driven to be the best. He trains his mind and his body relentlessly. He dedicates the time needed to educate himself on what’s happening in his area. He doesn’t quit when it gets tough. Because of this he always finds a way to get where he wants to be.
So why be like Batman instead of Superman in business? Superman relies solely on his superpowers to solves problems, Batman doesn’t. Batman relies on himself, his knowledge, his skill, because in the end, in business there are no “superpowers”, it’s just you, and your business.
So readers, what say you – Batman or Superman?
Wonderwoman? 🙂
I can see that. 🙂
That actually makes a lot of sense in that Wonder Woman was an Amazonian Warrior Princess, so with regard to battle tactics I’d probably have to put her on par, if not above Batman because she has been trained to fight since she could hold a stick. Batman has studied almost every known form of martial combat, however, not since birth so while his reaction times are phenomenal, there’s a “second nature” to how Wonder Woman approaches combat in general.
With regard to the original question, Batman vs. Superman, since the Barbara Gordon (now Oracle) Batgirl studied directly under Batman, she picked up many of his tendencies in how he studies,analyzes, and thinks so in essence she is probably the closest to Batman’s female persona. Cassandra is an entirely different as all her decisions are based off of body language and how she interprets it. Which leads us directly to Bat Woman who despite being somewhat new on the scene, has no direct ties to Batman.
So from the female side I guess the appropriate question would be Batgirl vs. Supergirl, which is it’s own separate blog post.
Jeff, You know far too much about these super heros. Does your comic book collection rival that of Mr. Chris Brogan? 😉
Actually, it’s my wife’s collection 🙂 She’s got a massive trade collection and her Batman-foo is strong. I don’t know anyone who knows more about Batman than she does.
I’m more into the animated shows and movies that surround these guys. Chris Brogan is the Bruce Wayne to my Terry McGinnis, and I’ve told him as much. 🙂 He thought it was a great way to put it and that it was a nice compliment.
As to who’s collection is larger, I would dare say her Batman Trade Paperbacks collection would rival those of Chris’ yes. You’ll have to come to point some weekend for a visit and see for yourself.