Is Discipline Just A Joke?
Hollywood Seems To Struggle With It
As is often the case, this article sits at cross roads of two topics on my mind. The first was — I should write a Creative Analytics article about Cobra Kai. That show rocks! I still may…
The second was my recent commitment to revist my earliest articles, now over five years old. You may have read this one:
In fairness, I made my own jokes in that article.
Discipline made boys into men. Well, except Ralph Macchio who I guess was already a man that happened to look like a boy…
Of course, I was making fun of Ralph Macchio and not discipline. Hollywood, on the other hand, seems to enjoy making fun of the concept of discipline itself. And this couldn’t be more on display than in the episodes of Cobra Kai. At least in that case, the answer is a big and somewhat hilarious — YES.
In Cobra Kai, Daniel is still following the Miyagi playbook of using chores as hidden Karate lessons, but Johnny has added a whole new level of discpline. Is Lawrence french?
Johnny beats, drowns, tortures, and comes pretty close to killing (or maiming) several of his students in the name of ‘discipline’. Actually, I am not even sure that character has ever uttered the term ‘discipline’. His terminology is more suited for cable TV and locker rooms.
For the most part, the show does a pretty stellar job of balancing heart warming outcomes with comedy and an amazing sense of self-irreverence (is that a thing?). It is likely what makes this show as popular as it is. BUT that doesn’t mean that ‘discpline’ comes out where it should… it pretty much always ends with a joke.
Years after writing that first article, I realized that the vast majority of people and professional would clearly answer NO. I work in the analytics industry… well actually it is more of a discipline… let’s call it a field — because right now the field of analytics has an extreme lack of discipline, as does most of the Western world.
But let me end with something you might not have expected.
Discipline IS a Joke!
Especially in the field of analytics, where discpline allows those who possess it — to laugh their way to the bank each payday. Discipline is a value prop, a differentiator, a way to get paid — precisely because so many others are willing to dismiss it.
So go ahead and laugh at Johnny Lawrence of Cobra Kai. Just don’t fall for the trap that so many others do. Discipline is a much funnier joke for those who embrace it.
Thanks for reading! Oh, and if you enjoy Cobra Kai as much as I do, keep an eye out for an article on Creative Analytics this February.
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