He's full of himself, suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and loves his mooch. Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot is a man like no other. Ninety four years after crime writer Agatha Christie created his character, he remains top of the mystery pops.
With Christie's birthday celebrations kicking off last week, and psychological thriller queen, Sophie Hannah releasing a book that brings Poirot back, we thought it's time to revisit his genius, and learn from it.
Rely on little gray cells: No matter what your job profile, it's important to be analytical, look for solutions on your own. And, lesson#1 is to tap the power the "little gray cells" wield. "It is the brain, the little gray cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within - not without," Poirot said. "One does not, you know, employ merely the muscles... It is enough for me to sit back in my chair and think. It is this - " he tapped his egg-shaped head - "this, that functions!"
Find your core: Figure out what makes you tick - what gets your goat, leaves you jelly-kneed. What are deal-breakers for you? Fully knowing yourself is significant because you are your best companion on the journey of life. "A man is confronted quite soon with the necessity to stand on his own feet, to face dangers and difficulties, and to take his own line of dealing with them," Poirot said. When that happens, you'd better know what you are made of!
Learn to listen: The retired policeman is big on getting people to talk. Early on, he positions himself as Papa Poirot, a benevolent confessor, especially to young women. Later, to aid his work, he makes up stories to get people talking. In The ABC Murders, he explains why to best friend Arthur Hastings. "There is nothing so dangerous for anyone who has something to hide as conversation!... A human being, Hastings, cannot resist the opportunity to reveal himself and express his personality which conversation gives him. Every time he will give himself away."
Find method in madness: Poirot emphasizes a vital life skill - an order and a method in everything. And though his meticulousness - arranging books according to height, symmetrical furniture and thoughts on square crumpets — often comes in for ribbing from Capt. Hastings and Inspector Japp, Poirot has the last laugh. Hastings says in The Mysterious Affair at Styles: "Sometimes I feel sure he is as mad as a hatter and then, just as he is at his maddest, I find there is a method in his madness." In The Mystery of the Blue Train, Poirot clarifies: "I am not mad. I am eccentric perhaps [but] I am very much as one says, 'all there'."
Command respect: With his obsession for order and method, his outrageous moustache and inflated ego, Poirot could have turned into a preposterous mountebank. But the man commands respect simply by being consistent and delivering each time. And though we do laugh at his eccentricities, it's without losing respect for him.
Stack up skills of all kinds: In Lord Edgeware Dies, Poirot reads writing upside down during his police career. That sets him on the killer's trail! He networks zealously, though you would never think so. And while any other detective would have considered not being able to blend in a drawback, Poirot celebrates his "foreign-ness". "Everyone tells everything to me sooner or later. I'm only a foreigner, you see, so it does not matter. It is easy because I am a foreigner," he says in Elephants Can Remember.
Take up work that you enjoy: While Poirot was usually paid handsomely by clients, he also took on umpteen cases that didn't pay well but piqued his curiosity. And often, he turned down work for reasons best known to him. His reasoning for refusing a case in Murder on the Orient Express: "If you will forgive me for being personal - I do not like your face, M. Ratchett."
Cultivate the instinct: Researchers at University of California recently found that going with your gut is the way to go. But Poirot knew it all along. As he says in The Mysterious Affair at Styles: "Instinct is a marvellous thing...It can neither be explained nor ignored."
EXPERT SPEAK
"There is no better way to know and understand people. The whole science of psychological treatment is based on good listening skills. To develop and maintain relationships, understanding people is essential - this can happen with active listening."
Dr Samir Parikh Director, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Healthcare, agrees with Poirot's life lessons.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Poirot,Indian workforce,Hercule Poirot,Agatha Christie
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