The Dark Knight

“If you’re good at something know when to give it away for free”

Google Movie Synopsis:

With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader begins to tread a fine line between heroism and vigilantism.

Scenario:

The Joker meets with Gotham City’s mob leaders to pitch them a unique proposal on how to deal with the Batman.

Selected Scene:

Joker:             Let’s wind the clocks back a year. These cops and lawyers wouldn’t dare cross any of you. I mean, what happened? Did your balls drop off? Hmm, you see a guy like me . . .  

Gambol:        A freak!  

Joker:             A guy like me . . . Look, listen. I know why you choose to have your little, ahem, group therapy sessions in broad daylight. I know why you’re afraid to go out at night. The Batman. See, Batman has shown Gotham your true colors, unfortunately. Dent. He’s just the beginning and as for the television’s so called plan. Batman has no jurisdiction. He’ll find him and make him squeal. I know the squealers when I see them and . . .  

Chechen:      what do you propose?  

Joker:             It’s simple, we , uh , kill the Batman  

Maroni:           If it’s so simple why haven’t you done it already?  

Joker:             If you’re good at something, never do it for free.

Business Tip:

How often do you walk into a store and receive free stuff without buying anything, such as beats headphones, a macbook air or a bag of iams pet food? Almost never, right? So, why should we expect free goods from those who are selling services (legal advice, photos, graphic design, consulting services, etc.)? The answer is simple, people place a value on things in which they understand their worth.  We all know how much a 32" television should cost (at least a ballpark amount) but most of us, are not only clueless to how much an hour worth of consulting costs, but don't see it costing the person providing the service any money, so more reason to expect it for free. Again, I'm not talking about services such as plumbing or lawn care, these services you can see an immediate result. I'm talking about the services that don't provide an instant outcome. Let's say you start to give away free photography lessons, two things will happen, first, the value of your lessons will start to decrease--not the monetary value, but the perceived value (a.k.a., the "we value/desire what we can't have" category). Secondly, you will begin to lose money because you are not working on projects which you could get paid for. So when do you give something away for free?  First off, nothing is never free, in business, there is always a "string" attached to something.  When entering the workforce, you need to change your way of thinking, free = no money to free = trade. Trade can be many things, it can be a better office, special recognition, access to a meeting or even your name at the top of a list. Bottom line, something that YOU value and can help with your own professional career. Still have questions? Just remember, if you don't value your work, then don't expect others to.