The Top 100 Movie Quotes for HR Pros: #92 is "Don't Sell Yourself Short - You're a Tremendous Slouch..."
November 10, 2010
New series at the Capitalist: The Top 100 Movie Quotes of all time for HR Pros. In no special order, I break down the 100 movie quotes that resonate most for me as a career HR pro. Some will be funny, some will be serious... Some will tug at your heart like when the Fox voice-over guy said, "Tonight - a very special episode of 90210"... You get the vibe... I'll do it countdown-style like they're ranked, but let's face it - they're ALL special..
# 92: "Don't Sell Yourself Short - You're a Tremendous Slouch..."...
Full quote text from the movie, "Caddyshack":
Judge Smails: You know, you should play with Dr. Beeper and myself. I mean, he's been club champion for three years running and I'm no slouch myself.
Ty Webb: Don't sell yourself short Judge, you're a tremendous slouch.
Why it's important for HR pros: You're an HR pro. In addition to living a life of hardness, isolation and SHRM mailings, you'll also be approached by people inside and outside of your organization for random manipulation attempts. As a part of this manipulation dance, they'll encourage you to join one or more of the following:
-The "club"
-Their customer base
-Their clique
-The right way of thinking
-Something else you don't need that involves them.
In short, they'd love to have you. You have more influence as an HR pro than you give yourself credit for. There's just this one little problem with any of the invitations - you don't need any of what they're selling, and by accepting their invite, you've actually reduced your overall influence, because they don't have much credibility.
This is where you say no. The quote reminds us of that. If you're lucky, they'll pitch you, then refer to someone else who they're aligned with, then tout themselves as not being "too bad either".
At which point you say, "Don't sell yourself short, Tammy, you're a tremendous slouch." If she knows Caddyshack, she'll laugh and maybe not even know you're telling her the club isn't good enough. Or maybe she will know. Either way, you win.
Stay independent in your thinking. Just like Ty.
Well played. Just reading the title made me laugh.
I've actually had an opportunity in real life to use my favorite line from the film on a friend.
"That's the worst looking hat I've ever seen. I bet you get a free bowl of soup with a hat like that. Looks good on you, though."
Posted by: Dwane Lay | November 10, 2010 at 08:56 AM
Is this Russia, Danny?
Posted by: AkaBruno | November 10, 2010 at 09:31 AM
"Remember Danny - Two wrongs don't make a right but three rights make a left."
Posted by: Michelle | November 10, 2010 at 12:47 PM
You'll get nothing and like it!
Posted by: Andrew Hibbard | December 03, 2010 at 11:23 AM