May 04th, 2014

In honor of May 4 (see? this proves that Star Wars is a religion, we even have our own holiday now!), this week's Sales and Sci-Fi lesson comes from a galaxy far, far away.

This isn't the only Star Wars lesson in The Handbook, but it was the first Star Wars lesson in the book, and it was even one of the first lessons that I formally articulated for publication. 

And with Star Wars Day coming right on the heels of Free Comic Book Day-- Wow!  Talk about packing in the weekend chock full o' SF fun!  Anyway, here's Lesson #9 from Rugg's Handbook of Sales and Science Fiction:  Star Wars, the original movie trilogy.  (In the Sci-Fi Skinny section of this lesson, it also mentions the movie Wreck-It Ralph... just watched that again the other night and was amazed anew at what a GOOD movie it is!  Tightly-written, killer graphics and outstanding voice-acting.)

Lesson 9--  The Sci-Fi:  Star Wars, Episodes  IV (A New Hope), V (The Empire Strikes Back), and VI (Return of the Jedi).  Movies created by George Lucas.

The Sci-Fi Sitch:  Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, the interstellar government of the Republic has been overthrown by the political machinations of the new Empire.  On a backwater planet, a young man named Luke Skywalker dreams of leaving the farm for a life of glory.  Upon learning that his true father was a warrior for the old Republic- a Jedi knight- Luke is determined to follow in his footsteps and train as a Jedi.  He convinces another former Jedi, a friend of his father’s named Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi, to introduce him to the ways of the discipline, and after Obi-Wan’s death, he travels to a swamp planet to find the Jedi master Yoda in order to complete his Jedi training.

The Sales Sitch:  Luke was a rash and brash young man, but when he realized what he wanted, he found mentors and began to learn.  It took a long time— three movies in the original Star Wars trilogy—but he kept learning, and kept growing his knowledge and power.  When his first mentor couldn’t provide any more guidance (Ben Kenobi was, of course killed-  I mean, “went to join the Force,” mid-way through the first movie), Luke sought out a new teacher in order to continue his studies.  

In sales, having a mentor is like having a guide in the wilderness.  The mentor can’t do your work for you, but can help you determine more effective ways to do your work.  When you make mistakes, the mentor can help you to learn from those mistakes, and to help put the situation in perspective.  The mentor can suggest new or different directions for you to explore in specific sales campaigns or in your sales career in general. 

The Sales and Sci-Fi Lesson:  A mentor can be a powerful resource:  Study under someone who is already successful and take advantage of their experience and knowledge to help guide you to your goals.

The Sci-Fi Skinny:  As author/philosopher Mark Rowlands says about Star Wars in his book The Philosopher at the End of the Universe: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … … blah, blah, blah …. What the hell, everyone knows this one anyway.”  George Lucas, fresh off the success of his film American Graffiti, wrote a good vs. evil space opera that created and utilized a brave new world of motion picture special effects.  Star Wars went on to be the most influential science fiction event the world has ever seen, and continues to impact audiences beyond the eventual original movie, original trilogy and prequel trilogy, by way of cartoons (that Lucas maintains to be Star Wars canon), novels, and games.  With the much vaunted purchase of the Star Wars franchise by Disney, it is estimated that approximately 98.6 percent of the entire universe is now owned by one single entity.  To quote Sergeant Calhoun in the movie Wreck-It Ralph, “Doomsday and Armageddon just had a baby, and it… is… ugly.”  Who knows?  Maybe this alliance of the two most powerful forces in the galaxy is a good thing.  But the Calhoun quote, being from a Starship Trooper-derivative character in a Disney movie, just felt too ironically appropriate to pass up.