Who has not ever seen El Chavo or El Chapulín Colorado? These are two of the most emblematic and famous characters worldwide created and performed by the Mexican artist Roberto Gómez Bolaños.
Born in 1929 in Mexico City, and died in 2014 in Cancún, he was an illustrator, producer, screenwriter, writer, actor, director and businessman, with a career of more than 40 years, in which he created some of the icons that marked the childhood of several generations on fire.
Not everyone knows that “Chespirito”, as he was nicknamed, began working in a construction company after a few years of studying mechanical engineering. At a very young age he passed a job interview based on an advertisement in a newspaper, and became involved with television in 1950, where he worked as a scriptwriter. Ten years later he made his first character as an actor.
And why did they name him Chespirito? Due to his small stature and enormous talent for stories and scripts: they began to compare him with the brilliant William Shakespeare, whose phonetic is “chekspir”, and from there to “Chekspirito” and “Chespirito” there was only one step.
In fact, many characters he created and words he invented for his programs began with “ch,” a then-typical prefix equivalent to many swear words in his country, as he himself detailed in an interview.
Their programs continue to air on television stations in many countries and streaming systems around the world; and also feeds millions of memes on social networks.
As you know, there are many catchphrases that have become famous today, which originated in the television series of Gómez Bolaños.
Here you will find a selection of the 10 best phrases that he left us, which we can also read under the gaze of the leadership:
1. “They just don't have patience with me”
It is possibly one of the most emblematic, and we associate it with the ability of every leader to consider the factor of patient waiting within their daily management. Possibly the teams are patient with it, and in turn, it should be reciprocal with its people, since we are not perfect and we can all make mistakes and clumsiness and have delays and unforeseen events.
2. «The last thing that is lost is hope, Mr. Barriga»
With a clear inspirational and motivational tone, El Chavo thus reflects the desirable temperament in whoever is a leader, of having his sights set on the realistic-optimistic horizon, beyond any circumstance. It is this approach that will allow finding exits and opening up possibilities.
3. “It was without wanting to”
Another anthology phrase that the popular character left us represents the innocence and, at the same time, the clumsiness into which he frequently fell.
In the world of leadership, the vulnerability of those who lead to accept their own mistakes is important, and to know that many times they can be the product of trusting too much in their instincts and even their own unconscious, which can play tricks on them by making poor decisions. In any case, they are completely human experiences.
“4. OK but do not get mad”
The temperance that accompanies people in leadership roles involves tolerance for frustration, disappointment, and assuming that there may be a gap between expectation and reality. It is wise to remain calm and, always, take care of your manners, above all, so that anger does not transform into anger and emotional outbursts that are costly in terms of bonds of trust with the teams.
5. “No, I'm washing my eyes from the inside out”
If we are learning anything in this era of the business world, it is that emotions are becoming more and more evident on the table, starting with directors and managers. I talk about that in my book “Emotional Innovation”, written several years ago.
Although an organization is not a self-help or therapeutic group, it is healthy to understand that there are moments where we can be overwhelmed by emotion, and it is valid and acceptable for it to be expressed in its full dimension. Hiding it, covering it up and, worse still, not processing it, can cost those who feel it dearly.
1. “They didn't count on my cunning”
The character always mentioned it at the beginning of each chapter, and it reflects that there are certain conditions that exist that other people may not be able to observe. For example, the hidden potential of someone who still does not dare to deploy it.
The mission as leaders is to awaken and expand it, to achieve a maximum level of involvement and adhesion of each team member.
2. “Don't let the Cunico panda”
Possibly many of us have said it over and over again. Here, the character sought to put cold cloths and a certain rationality to extremely emotional situations, from which it is very difficult to operate solutions and alternatives. And that is exactly one of the fundamental roles on which good leadership is based: the ability to appease, temper and open spaces for problems to be resolved.
3. “The good ones follow me”
Beyond the word “Follow me…” that heads the television phrase, if we bring this concept down to the business world we can see it as my teacher, the world expert John Maxwell, states: good leadership is about creating more leaders, not followers.
When you have responsibility for people, you act, live, think, interpret and channel the best ways of being and doing, to permanently accompany, guide and inspire. The key is to surround yourself with good members, who will make the team consolidate more quickly.
4. “They take advantage of my nobility”
There is a very popular book, “The Four Agreements,” by also Mexican doctor Miguel Ruiz, where one of his precepts is “Don't take anything personally.”
In leadership, if you take every situation personally you will be offended most of the time. In addition, you will begin to see ghosts and plots against you where there may not be any.
As a leader, I suggest that you seek to assert yourself in your capacity, human quality and closeness, and you will see how it is possible that no one “takes advantage of your nobility.”
5. “I suspected it from the beginning”
If we transpolate the phrase to the corporate world, the intuition factor is extremely valuable in management. Since time immemorial, hunches or “feeling your gut” are synonymous with what we call intuition here.
It is this powerful guide that we human beings have, through which, beyond the evidence, the tangible information that we have and the references that we have gathered, a sixth sense sharply appears, which allows us to complete the panorama of what we want to elucidate.
In the world of leadership, El Chapulín Colorado reminds us that we must not leave it aside, know how to listen, pay attention to what it suggests to us, and, at the same time, compare it with data and information, to be able to decide.
Although I must confess that I know dozens of great business leaders who rely on their intuition rather than purely rationality when carrying out their activity… and they are enormously successful!
From wherever he is, perhaps Roberto Gómez Bolaños perceives that here we have paid tribute to him through well-known phrases from his two most endearing characters. The intention was to put them on the table of great leaders and their teams, and invite us (all) to reflect on how to apply them in the daily life of companies.
