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..

#86: ""Fight Club was the beginning, now it's moved out of the basement, it's called Project Mayhem"...

--Tyler Durden from Fight Club

When do you use this quote as an HR Pro? When someone, who thought you were going to check with them before you did anything, is suddenly suprised that you've moved forward without keeping them in the loop.  

They wanted control.  They wanted you to check in.  You moved forward anyway.  

"That was what we were doing, but we've improved it.  It's called Project Mayhem now."

Using the term "Project Mayhem" adds a little twist to it.  First, it's topical due to the Fight Club reference, and more importantly, it underscores the loss of control the person challenging you feels.

You're a professional.  You know what to do.  You don't need no stinking badges.

Them: "I thought we were going to talk before you started bringing in candidates".

You: "I know we talked about that, but I thought I'd mix some candidates around the team to get started.  Turns out they love Jim and Trudy.  They've probably talked to you about them, right?"

Them: "Yeah, that's why I'm saying I thought we were going to wait until I gave you the green light."

You: "You still control when to hire.  The good news is that your team has a couple of candidates they love."

You're proactive.  You're not simply taking orders on a piece of paper.  Are you?

Order taking was the beginning, now it's moved out of the basement, it's called Project Mayhem.