The Question

The latest Batman movie – “The Dark Knight” – you’ve seen it, right? I’m going to go out on a limb here and offer that Christian Bale’s version of Batman, in this film, was pretty badass. (Note: Deconstructing comic book superheroes is usually not my thing, but in this case it really drives home why I’m head over heels with my business’ Right People, so come along for this quick journey.)

I recently asked The Smartest Film Guy in All of Brooklyn (aka Dan of The Pursuit of Awesome) what made this version of Batman so compelling.

To summarize his characteristically cogent and well-crafted response, Batman rules because:

 (1) He’s human. Fallible. Vulnerable.

One of the things I’ve always found compelling is that when compared to other superheroes (Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Hulk, any member of the X Men), Batman isn’t technically a super hero. He has no super powers, he can’t fly, shoot webs out of his hands, or whatever.

(2) He’s a complicated dude.

Now, the older I get, the more I realize that just simply having a character deal with personal demons and embrace a certain duality does not fundamentally qualify that character as being a fully fleshed out and complicated character (I mean, John Locke is a complicated character, Starbuck is a complicated character), but I do think it’s safe to say that one of the things I find most compelling about Batman is that he’s got more layers and more depth than the other superheroes around him.

(3) He wrestles with the weight of his own abilities and the ethics and logistics of using them.

On one side, he’s someone who earnestly believes that it’s his duty as a citizen to stand up and fight the good fight against the forces of darkness, on another side, he’s obsessively out there every night because someone killed his parents when he was a kid and he was powerless to stop them.

On one side, when he’s in the heat of battle, he’s undergone really intense training so that he’ll be this disciplined, focused fighter who tries to make every movement count. On the other side, when he’s back at his lab or in the process of trying to figure out who’s behind it all, he’s maniacal, and often times circumvents the law (or the public’s view of the image he created) if he thinks it’s the most effective path to his success.

Relevance, please?

Check it out; I work with women who run small and mighty businesses. They’re my Right People and I love working with them. Here’s why.

• Just like Batman, these women and their biz-babies are human, fallible, vulnerable, and damn effective, uniquely equipped to wrestle with ambiguity and a nested sense of the pursuit of greater good.
• Just like Batman,  my clients use their lives to do right by themselves, and to do right by their vision of justice and the world’s wellbeing.  
• Just like Batman,  my Right People wrestle with their work and all that it demands of them. They face constraints, obstacles, ethical and logistical dilemmas, and they make the best with what they have available.   Sometimes they even have alteregos and mechanisms that  allow their superhero work to not consume their entire selves. (Psst: this is important.)

That my talents compliment theirs and I find myself working in a supportive capacity of their dreams is an honor and a privilege.

 Next Up: Part 2: The Thing Bruce Wayne’s Got and All Big Idea People Should Have Too