I know that even today there are still people who brag about not watching television. Kind of like the old days when pseudo intellectuals hid their portable TV in a closet and only rolled it out when what they deemed a program interesting enough aired on PBS. The rest of the time as a matter of principle they kept it hidden away lest their beret-wearing poet friends came over to share a jug of Chianti. Those people were idiots and not to be trusted to do anything with any degree of, shall I say it…common sense. I put these people in a category of people not to be trusted where they sit with other people not to be trusted like men who wear bow ties, or people who don’t eat meat, or people who spend too much time on their footwear trying to decide whether today will be a Birkenstock day or a Croc day.

I watch TV and I have found that there is much to be learned there. I have written columns focused on the management skills of Tony Soprano and the business skills of Walter White in Breaking Bad. Then there are the real business shows from Shark Tank, to The Profit, to the Deed, to The Pitch, to Undercover Boss to, well too many to mention here in my less than a thousand word allotted space. 

But the point is this: To the discerning TV viewer there is a lot to be learned from the not so “Boob” tube.

The real point of watching programs like the ones I have mentioned and others is that they get you thinking, they stimulate your creative juices and get them flowing freely, the same way a great business book does.

I can’t read a Seth Godin or Tom Peters or Jeffrey Gitomer book without stopping to take notes. Often my notes are not about what I read in the book, but what something in the book made me think. And that is the most important aspect and contribution in any kind of media.

Sometime next year I will have written 800 of these weekly columns (hit the “Applause” button) and I could never have done it without a little help from my friends on television and in business books. These provide me with a plethora of ideas that I steal over and over again like a skilled jewel thief.

Now on to Don Draper and some of the gems that he dropped for us to pick up and learn from. For those of you whose “portable” TV is still in the closet Mr. Draper was the lead character in the hit show Mad Men which was about a leading Madison Avenue Ad agency in the 50’s and 60’s. Draper was the agency’s creative director and resident genius. The guy who always came up with the right solution to sell the right product to the right people whether or not they wanted or needed it. 

If you have never heard of Don Draper or the show Mad Men pull that TV out of the closet and turn it on. You might just learn something.

Here are some pearls of wisdom from Mr. Don Draper, the creative and director at Sterling & Cooper Advertising:

1. Focus on the need behind the need: What does a client/customer really need you for? Really?
2. Remember your true purpose: Satisfying your customer. Making your customer happy.
3. Embrace change with open arms: Change is inevitable. The exceptional person in any field is the one who can embrace and adapt to change.
4. Change the narrative: If you don’t like the way things are going, change the narrative, go in another direction that better suits your purpose in the end.
5. Take regret and spin it around: Dump the “could’ve, would’ve, should’ve” game and move on when something goes wrong. Forget missed opportunities, learn from them and move on.
6. Don’t just talk about things-get them done:  Yes, don’t tell us what you are going to do, tell us about them once they are done. Keep track of your accomplishments every day to make sure you are heading in the right direction. 
7. Think like your customers: Get away from what you think and start concentrating on how your customers think. Try to figure out what they like and why they like it. Not what you like to sell them and why they should like it.
8. Take responsibility when things aren’t going your way: you are truly in charge of you. You can decide whether or not you are going to succeed so it is up to you to step up. Especially when things are not going well. Don’t play the blame game. Instead look in the mirror realizing that success or failure is up to the person in the mirror and make it happen.

Oh there are so many more things you can learn from this Don Draper, Mad Men, and television in general. It is up to you. If you are truly serious about treating your career in general and sales specifically, find ideas, innovations, and solutions any place you can. And believe it or not, much of the time you can find those ideas right there in the closet with your “portable” TV. It’s only common sense