It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

For many people, one of the best parts of the holidays when they were growing up was sitting around watching the Peanuts movies on television. It didn’t feel like Halloween was coming until “It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” had aired. And fans of Charles Schulz know that his work had many kernels of truth being illustrated by the lovable children he portrayed. Here are some of those kernels that we can use in the workplace—on Halloween or all year round.

1. Let your meanest coworkers do the dirty jobs. They probably enjoy them. The day begins with Linus and Lucy looking for the perfect pumpkin to bring home. Linus carries the pumpkin home and lets Lucy—the meanest child in the neighborhood—do the dirty job of carving it up. And the way she stabs and guts the pumpkin, she seems like an old pro that thoroughly enjoys handling a knife.

2. When you work hard on a project, a lazy coworker will try to sabotage it. Charlie Brown and Snoopy rakes leaves in the backyard until they are in a nice good pile. They are happy with their hard work until Linus comes along and jumps in the leaves, meaning the project will need to be redone.

3. A lying coworker will lie in any medium. After years of falling on his head because Lucy snatched the football away, Charlie Brown is convinced that he has a shot this time because she presents him with proof that she won’t do it again. “This time you can trust me,” she says. “Here’s a signed document testifying that I promise not to pull it away.” Unfortunately, Charlie Brown believes her and falls flat on his back once again. Then Lucy reveals the caveat: The document was not notarized.

4. Crazy coworkers have ingenious ideas. Linus is laughed at by everyone around him for writing to the Great Pumpkin, and when he needs to mail the letter, Lucy tells him he wasted his time because he can’t even reach the mailbox anyway. But Linus proves that people who don’t think like everyone else can also do ingenious things that other people can’t do—he uses his security blanket to pull the mailbox open and get the job done.

5. Attention to detail can decrease awkward moments. Charlie Brown is so excited to be invited to a Halloween party for the fist time—until Lucy tells him it was all a mistake. In fact, there were two lists—one for people who are invited to the party and one for those who are not. Apparently, thanks to a lack of attention to detail, poor Charlie Brown was put on the wrong list.

6. The meek shall inherit the rocks. While trick-or-treating, all of the more aggressive kids get the best loot. But Charlie Brown, as usual, ends up with the short end of the stick and goes home with a bag full of rocks.

7. You can’t discourage a daydreaming coworker. No matter how many times the Great Pumpkin doesn’t show up, or how many people laugh at him, Linus is determined to meet the elusive Halloween fixture. Linus has what he thinks is a great idea and he refuses to let it go.

If you’re feeling nostalgic for the Peanuts gang, visit the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa—which is airing “It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” every day until Halloween.

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