The Office: Michael Scott’s 10 Cleverest Stratagems
Even nearly ten years later Office ended its historic run on NBC, its characters and humor continue to be central elements of American entertainment culture. As such, Michael Scott, emblematic character of the series, has become a cultural icon in more ways than one.
Michael Scott may not be the smartest character in Office, but even he has the occasional surge of Supreme Inspiration. Although perhaps best known for his hilarious schemes like Tube City or Shoe-La-La, Steve Carell’s character was actually the source of some really brilliant ideas, although he stumbled across some of them. them accidentally.
Cafe Nightclub
In the Season 5 episode “Cafe Disco”, Michael uses the office space that once housed the Michael Scott Paper Company to start his own dance club. After many failed attempts to get his co-workers to join in the fun, Michael finally manages to lure each of his employees to Cafe Disco for a fun afternoon of dancing.
This particular scheme turns out to be one of Michael’s healthiest moments, as it is able to provide the office with a fun distraction from the monotonies of everyday life. In the end, Cafe Disco turned out to be Michael’s most successful party, where all his friends at work could relax and have a good time.
Sabotage
One of Michael’s truly lowest moments comes in the Season 5 episode “Prince Family Paper”, when he and Dwight effectively sabotage a family paper business by stealing from their customers. Michael and Dwight pose as a client and rental candidate respectively, while gaining information on the quaint family business.
Although Michael’s actions were decidedly immoral, his plan worked to absolute perfection, as he managed to earn the Prince family’s trust to the point of being handed a list of their biggest clients. As the audience would learn later in the season, Michael’s actions would bankrupt Prince Family Paper.
If you can’t beat them…
In “The Sting”, an episode of OfficeIn Season 7, Jim and Dwight turn to Michael in frustration after being continuously beaten by a rival salesman, Danny Cordray (Timothy Olyphant). After several foolish schemes that attempted to monitor Cordray’s sales tactics, Michael opts to hire the salesman instead, eliminating the threat he posed to the company.
A lot Office fans underestimate the genius of Michael Scott, but he knows how to make a good deal. Seeing that Danny Cordray was an excellent salesman capable of stealing their potential customers, Michael decided that, rather than trying to compete with him, Dunder Mifflin should pursue his talents. Although the company probably couldn’t afford another employee, Danny’s skills as a salesman likely generated a profit for the Scranton branch.
“I want my babyback”
In the Season 2 episode “The Client”, Michael and Jan take the titular client (Tim Meadows) out to dinner. Jan is frustrated with Michael’s apparent immaturity with the client and plays second fiddle all night. Much to Jan’s surprise, however, Michael befriended the client at the end of the night, winning his case in the meantime.
This episode marks one of the many times Michael reminds the Office fans of his business acumen. It can be easy for the show’s characters and the audience to forget that, although Michael is often immature as a boss, he was once an outstanding salesman. In “The Client”, Michael is shown to be more than just a “dumb boss”.
Fun run (for healing)
After hitting Meredith with his car in the Season 4 premiere episode “Fun Run”, Michael attempts to distract the office from his act by doing a fun run in Meredith’s honor, shedding light on the highly curable disease. and well known rabies. .
While typical shenanigans ensue during the fun race, including Michael almost not finishing the race due to an absurdly large consumption of fettuccini alfredo minutes before the start of the race, this particular pattern seems to have served its purpose wished to distract the rest of the office from his near-fatal gaffe. By the end of the episode, most of his employees seem to have forgotten that Michael had run one over into his car a few days prior.
A “Golden Ticket” idea
In the season 5 episode titled “Golden Ticket”, Michael uses an idea to hide golden tickets in random paper mailings that offered customers 10% off their next order. Although this plan initially goes awry, with the firm’s biggest client finding the five golden tickets, it eventually results in the client making Dunder Mifflin their sole paper supplier.
Although this scheme could very well have bankrupted the entire company and almost cost Dwight his job, the idea of the golden ticket ended up benefiting a company that had been in deep financial turmoil immensely. While unlikely, this particular shot turned out to be one of Michael Scott’s greatest hits.
A “Murdah” in Savvanah
In the Season 6 episode “Murder”, the employees of Dunder Mifflin Scranton are worried about their job security, as it appears their company is on the verge of bankruptcy. While they wait for news for the company, Michael forces the entire office to engage in a game of murder mystery to distract them from the impending bad news.
Michael receives much criticism throughout the episode for his seemingly distant attitude towards the possibility of Dunder Mifflin’s bankruptcy. As the story progresses, however, it becomes clear that Michal’s goal is to keep everyone’s mind off the whole affair, while enlivening their spirit. Ultimately, this turns out to be a time when Michael’s unique management style came in handy.
The Michael Scott Paper Company
One of Season 5’s most famous storylines saw Michael leave Dunder Mifflin and start his own rival paper company, called The Michael Scott Paper Company. Along with Pam and Ryan, Michael began slashing Dunder Mifflin’s prices, stealing their customers from under them and ruthlessly bleeding their Scranton branch.
Although their business model was ultimately unsustainable in the long run, Michael and his compatriots were able to hold out long enough to make David Wallace and the other Dunder Mifflin executives nervous. In the end, the Michael Scott Paper Company was hit by Dunder Mifflin in what amounted to a multi-million dollar buyout, putting a cap on one of the few special moments when the Office fans were actually supporting the success of Michael Scott.
Tongues too well hung sink ships
In the first episode of OfficeIn Season 6, titled “Gossip,” Michael comes to regret telling the whole office about Stanley Hudson’s affair with his nurse Cynthia. In an attempt to confuse his colleagues into forgetting the rumor, he begins spreading false information about everyone. The office descends into chaos as everyone tries to figure out where all the rumors are coming from.
Although his colleagues are able to trace the rumors back to him, Michael’s plan was actually quite brilliant. In fact, he was indeed able to distract attention from Stanley’s case, hiding the truth from the rest of his employees. Unfortunately for Stanley, Michael’s success was short-lived, as he accidentally revealed the truth to Terri, Stanley’s wife, over the phone soon after.
dinner plans
Perhaps the most infamous scheme on Michael Scott’s part occurs in the Season 4 episode “Dinner Party.” In an effort to finally get Jim and Pam to come to dinner at the apartment he shared with Jan, Michael tells the entire office not to make any plans because he has to work late. After confirming they have no plans, Michael fakes a rebellious call to the company, sending everyone home early and leaving Jim and Pam with no excuse not to come to dinner.
This is a rare case where one of Michael’s ambitious plans has worked out to perfection, earning even Jim’s grudging respect. What ensues that night is infamous among Office fans as one of the craziest and most beloved episodes of the entire series, as Jim and Pam are forced to endure the uncomfortable strain of Michael and Jan’s toxic home environment.
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