3 Career Skills You Can Learn from James Bond Movies

Since his 1953 introduction to the world’s stage in Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royale, James Bond has continued to inspire audiences across the globe to live dangerously. Whether thrown into the exotic Jamaican landscape, or even trapped in a radioactive sinking submarine, James Bond is known to always find a way out – and look extra sharp while doing it.

While the film franchise mainly focuses on the larger-than-life hero outwitting his most recent foe, it also allows audiences the opportunity to study his world-renowned skills. Below you will find how three of James Bond’s most well-known traits can be adopted into your daily routine – and it’s much easier to make happen than you would think.

Always plan for the worst-case scenario

One of James Bond’s most useful skills, one that comes in handy time and time again, is his ability to always think ahead. By considering all possible exits, strategies, and scenarios, James can plan all counter-moves to ensure more likelihood of having a successful mission. This particular skill has saved his life countless times and also allowed him to become a very successful gambler.

So how does this translate to the real-world? If you plan for all scenarios, it’s less likely you’ll be surprised and caught off guard in the event a less than ideal situation arises. Say, for instance, you’ve recently been fired, if you already planned ahead by investing in a retirement plan, or even something as simple as periodically updating your resume, you’ll be ahead of the curve and have less to worry about moving forward. One of the most important aspects to this particular skill is to always trust your instincts. If you have a gut feeling the roof might be caving in, isn’t it better to come to work with an umbrella?

The ability to read people

As is usually the case in today’s thrilling new movies, one must never judge a book by its cover. When audiences first meet a character in a James Bond installment, there’s no telling what can happen before the end of the film. More often than not, enemies become friends and friends become villains. James Bond is particularly good at reading body language and social cues to differentiate friend from foe. As residents of the real world, we can only hope to acquire this skill and apply it to our work lives – or even our dating lives. By reading a coworker, for example, an individual may be able to glean either malicious intent or find a possible ally. Is your overly friendly coworker simply out to steal your ideas from you? Conversely, perhaps a shy or coworker feels intimidated by your personality, and is not just giving you the cold shoulder like you assumed.

Adaptability, and mastery, of technology

While James Bond may not be known for his ability to successfully use the advanced technologies offered to him by Q, head of weapons and development, he does teach one valuable lesson that can be applied to the real world: always staying up to date on technology. Whether at the office or at home, in today’s tech-crazed modern age, technological advances keep consumers connected to the outside world. James teaches us that always honing new skills and learning how things tick may be the best way to advance to the next level – both in career and our personal lives.