About the movie The Other Guys: “Unlike their heroic counterparts on the force, desk-bound NYPD detectives Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) garner no headlines as they work day to day. Gamble relishes his job as a paper pusher, but Hoitz is itching to get back on the street and make a name for himself. When a seemingly minor case turns out to be a big deal, the two cops get the opportunity to finally prove to their comrades that they have the right stuff….” (source: RottenTomatoes). I refer The Other Guys as people who are not the main key people in an organisation or never meant to hold key roles. They are often being neglected when comes to promotion or increment. They are being tagged as not indispensable. They are just there to make up for the numbers.
In the real corporate world, most of us are “the other guys” or TOG. We are neither here nor there. Never really rise up along the corporate ladder. Playing football without really touching a ball. We may start off as an associate, plateau as a senior manager for many years and probably retire as a deputy head or head of a small subunit of a big organisation. These people never make it to the c-suites.
What causes people to be TOG? Most people admittedly say that they are not ambitious. Some say that they want simple life or job security i.e the play safe attitude. Most of them may have been traumatised with the brutality of corporate life, hoping to retire in peace whilst safeguarding the stream of recurring income.
What happens to TOG in the end? Two possible scenarios. Scenario 1 : they die miserably in the end. Not the literal death but they may or may not achieve the full pursuit of happiness. They may live their life, regretting on what could have or should have happened. They swallow their pride and ego, trying to withstand numerous corporate tortures.
Scenario 2: like the movie, they may change and decide to capitalise on opportunities that will catapult their life to a different realm of opportunities. Especially when the existing lead people in the organisation decide to vacate, leaving a temporary room for the TOG to shine. Some may fail or some may succeed.
My final thoughts on the TOG subject. We should always aim for balanced happiness. Not too excessive. If we are not happy with current arrangements in life, why don’t we change? Make small changes, you don’t need a revolutionary change in your life. Start small, and most important is to start something. Give yourself different perspectives of life, do not stick to the confines of a box or square.
