Mediaphyter – A Communications Cocktail

I have a new addiction. Not the arm-tapping or liquid sort, thank goodness, but a television addiction. Over the last two weeks I have done little else but sleep, work and watch “Dexter” — something that has become the butt of a few jokes in the Security Twit-terverse. I started season one last Tuesday. I finished season two on Wednesday night (only after frantically calling Comcast late Saturday night and adding Showtime to my cable package so I could immediately get more episodes “on-demand”). See? Addiction.

If you aren’t familiar with the show’s premise, Dexter Morgan (played by the amazing Michael C. Hall of “Six Feet Under“) is a forensic investigator for the Miami Metro Police Department and, well, a serial killer. I don’t want to include spoilers here so I will say what I always do when I can’t answer something: “It’s complicated.” Essentially, he only takes out the murderous trash that slips through law enforcement cracks.

Now it’s over, for the time anyway, and I’m going into a bit of withdrawal. Because there are five months and 26 days until season three begins I need to find a way to incorporate “Dexter” into my every day life. Since I am not a serial killer (I can’t even hurt a spider without a tearful goodbye) I had to find a more creative way to glean lessons from my kooky killing television hero. So, I give you: Why “Dexter” Would Succeed in Business:

1. Precision

Dexter Morgan is a perfectionist. His kills are clean and ritualistic. Simple. His actions are consistent. He prides himself on his ability to to lay out a perfect plan, stay meticulously on course and carry out his self-imposed assignments with a sense of control that will allow for little to no mistakes. His communication is always clear. If obstacles present themselves in the middle of his careful, um, execution, he does not slink away. He finds a way to either work around said obstacles or remove them from his path. He does all of this with a confidence and self-assuredness that helps to ensure his success.

2. Disassociation from Emotion

Dexter Morgan refers to himself as a “monster without feelings” at times. While he might be a little too hard on himself (as well all tend to be) he has mastered the practice of keeping emotions out of his decision making most of the time. As a matter of fact, I believe his ability to stave off feelings in his “business”-oriented thought processes directly support his ability to be precise. Dexter does not allow himself to be swayed by insecurity or guilt. He does not act out rashly toward people because he is having a bad day. He does not project his own self-assessed inadequacies onto other people. He is a beacon of assuredness who lives by a rule that his darkest emotions and actions stay hidden in the presence of others (unless you’re a murderer who has escaped the clutches of the police).

3. Dedication to a Craft (aka Your Work is Art)

There’s a sick beauty in the way that Dexter Morgan carries out his tasks. He is not only doing what he believes is his job, he has created “best practices” to follow each time to ensure high-quality results. To that end, every one of his kills is carried out with the same step-by-step method; an almost predictable fashion. The presentation, while disturbing, is almost artful. But his methodical nature does not mean that he never thinks outside the box. While sticking to what he knows works he always finds a way to add a new bit of flair to each assignment. What’s more important is that he doesn’t do all of this in an effort to impress others — he does it to be true to himself.

4. Careful Risk/Benefit Analysis

Dexter Morgan never makes a move without carefully analyzing the potential risks of his actions compared to the benefit that can be achieved by removing a malicious killer from Miami. You know, like we have to weigh the amount of our financial or labor investments compared to the desired outcome or ROI for our companies. It’s the same thing, really. Dexter goes through a series of questions while contemplating his next kill, such as “How do I obtain proof that this person really deserves to be dispatched? (aka “how do I get proof that this new tool will provide value-add?”). There’s also, “How do I avoid getting caught as well as not letting this distract me from my blood splatter analysis at work? (aka “how do I take on this new endeavor while not sacrificing my other pressing priorities?”). He does not make a move without this careful consideration. I recognize, however, that Dexter is in a better position than those of us who need to obtain multiple levels of approval for certain projects, therefore he has greater control over the benefit versus risk.

5. Loyalty

Finally, Dexter Morgan is loyal. It’s really hard to find dedicated employees these days, especially in technology. The average life-span, er, employment-span of an employee in Silicon Valley, for instance, is about two to three years. Dexter has been following a very strict code that his adoptive father, Harry Morgan, set for him some 20 years prior. He rarely, if not never, veers from this code and allows it to dictate most of his actions. His decision to let this code have a hold over him is purely out of loyalty to and respect for the dearly deceased Harry. Dexter isn’t begrudging about the code either; he has a lot of pride in his devotion to Harry and strives to meet these high standards. For that reason, Dexter would be a model employee, as he does not question the code nor does he challenge the code. He trusts the code and follows it to a tee.

There ya have it. Sure, Dexter is a little (?) twisted but his heart is in the right place. At the very core of it he possesses skills that would make him a valuable employee (if he wasn’t out slashing people in his spare time). I, myself, am going to aspire to be more like Dexter (not like that, remember what I said about the spider?). My career path — and company — will only benefit.

* Note: Neither this blog nor its author condone serial killing even to avenge death. This blog and its author do condone good business practices.