Advice from Walter’s Lab

“Things you can learn from Breaking Bad’s Walter White to be the best at what you do”

I always found Heisenberg quite badass — the Hat, the Goatee and the killer dialogues invoke a certain sense of awe and admiration.

Walter White is not someone who comes to mind when you think of career mentors, but he does have his moments along his transformation from high school chemistry teacher to meth cook extraordinaire

Here is my take away from breaking bad and could make for some great career advice for you.

1. Studying hard pays off, always.

“Chemistry can be used outside the lab, knowledge is king”

If only Jesse had paid attention to his chemistry lessons and heeded Walter’s advice on acid, they wouldn’t have had a bathtub with a floor opening into the living room. Pay attention to your academics, no matter how irrelevant they may seem to your career, because you never know what you may end up using when.

2. Be better than your competition

A lot like the Albuquerque, meth-dealing version of Steve Jobs , Walter isn’t satisfied unless he’s producing only the best. Jobs didn’t work for “good enough” at Apple. That’s one of the main reasons why his computers and Walter’s blue became must-have items.

3. To be successful, you need a strong team.

“Good teams build great products” ;)

Walter couldn’t have done it alone, neither could have Jesse. But together they made a blue product, better than anything on the face of this planet.

With a good team, you can too.

4. It’s all about networking

Walter needed Jesse to push his product, Saul to launder his money and Mike to kill for him. You too will need a network if you want to head up the corporate ladder.

5. Never make the same mistake twice.

Over dinner at Guss’s house Guss tells Walt, if there’s one piece of advice he had to give him would be “to never make the same mistake twice in this business”.

Making mistakes isn’t wrong, rather helpful at times, teaches one what not to do. But repeating them?. Nah, not if you want to be Heisenberg.

6. Be an irreplaceable cog in the machine.

Multiple times Walter’s life was saved because he was irreplaceable. Tuco, Gus, Mike and others wanted to kill him, but couldn’t because they couldn’t do without him, they needed him. In all probability, your employers and colleagues aren’t trying to kill you (maybe they are). You will find yourself in a better position if you bring something unique to the table.

Here a few Walter White quotes to leave you all charged up for the placement season.

“If that’s true, If you don’t know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.”

“What I came to realize is that fear, that’s the worst of it. That’s the real enemy. So get up, get out in the real world and kick that bastard right in the teeth as hard as you can.”

“ I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And, I was really….Alive.”

-Walter White

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