Even almost ten years after The Office ended its historic run on NBC, its characters and humor continue to be central parts of American entertainment culture. As such, Michael Scott, a character synonymous with the show, has become a cultural icon in more ways than one.
Michael Scott may not be the most intelligent character on The Office, but even he has the occasional surge of supreme inspiration. Though perhaps better known for his hilariously inane plans like Tube City or Shoe-La-La, Steve Carell's character was actually behind some truly brilliant ideas, even if he stumbled upon some of them accidentally.
Cafe Disco
In the season 5 episode "Cafe Disco," Michael uses the office space that formerly housed the Michael Scott Paper company to create his own dance club. After numerous failed attempts to get his coworkers to venture down to join the party, Michael eventually succeeds in drawing each of his employees to Cafe Disco for a fun afternoon of dancing.
This particular scheme turns out to be one of Michael's more wholesome moments, as he is able to provide the office with a fun distraction from the monotonies of everyday life. Ultimately, Cafe Disco proved to be Michael's most successful party, where all of his friends at work were able to relax and have a good time.
Sabotage
One of Michael's truly lowest moments comes in the season 5 episode "Prince Family Paper," when he and Dwight effectively sabotage a family-owned paper company by stealing their clients. Michael and Dwight pose as a client and candidate-for-hire respectively, all while gaining information about the quaint family business.
Although Michael's actions were decidedly immoral, his plan worked to absolute perfection, as he was able to gain the Prince family's trust to the point of being handed the list of their biggest clients. As the audience would learn later in the season, Michael's actions would lead to Prince Family Paper going out of business.
If You Can't Beat Them...
In "The Sting," an episode from The Office's season 7, Jim and Dwight turn to Michael in frustration after continually being beaten by a rival salesman, Danny Cordray (Timothy Olyphant). After several hair-brained schemes that attempted to monitor Cordray's sales tactic, Michael instead opts to hire the salesman, effectively eliminating the threat he posed to the company.
Many Office fans underestimate the genius of Michael Scott, but he knows how to make a good deal. Seeing that Danny Cordray was an excellent salesman capable of stealing their potential clients, Michael decided that, rather than trying to compete with him, Dunder Mifflin should attain his talents. While the company probably couldn't afford another employee, Danny's skill as a salesman likely brought in a profit for the Scranton branch.
"I Want My Babyback"
In the season 2 episode "The Client," Michael and Jan take the titular client (Tim Meadows) out to dinner. Jan is frustrated by Michael's seeming immaturity with the client and plays second fiddle all night. Much to Jan's surprise, however, Michael has befriended the client by the end of the night, gaining his business in the meantime.
This episode marks one of the many times where Michael reminds the Office fans of his business savvy. It can be easy for both the characters in the series and the audience to forget that, though Michael is often immature as a boss, he was once a remarkable salesman. In "The Client," Michael proves himself to be more than just the "idiot boss."
Fun Run (For The Cure)
After hitting Meredith with his car in the season 4 premiere episode "Fun Run," Michael attempts to distract the office from his deed by having a fun run in Meredith's honor, effectively shedding light on the very curable and well-known disease that is rabies.
While typical shenanigans ensue during the fun run, including Michael nearly not finishing the race due to an absurdly large intake of fettuccini alfredo minutes before beginning the run, this particular scheme seems to have accomplished its desired goal of distracting the rest of the office from his nearly fatal blunder. By the episode's end, most of his employees seem to have forgotten that Michael had run one of them down in his car only days before.
A 'Golden Ticket' Idea
In the season 5 episode entitled "Golden Ticket," Michael employs an idea to hide golden tickets in random shipments of paper that provided customers with 10% discounts on their next order. Though this plan initially goes awry, with the company's biggest customer finding all five golden tickets, this ultimately causes the customer to make Dunder Mifflin its sole paper provider.
Though this scheme could very well have put the entire company into bankruptcy and nearly cost Dwight his job, the golden ticket idea ended up tremendously benefitting a company that had been in deep financial turmoil. However unlikely, this particular plan proved to be one of Michael Scott's greatest successes.
A "Murdah" In Savvanah
In the season 6 episode "Murder," the employees of Dunder Mifflin Scranton are uneasy about their job security moving forward, as it appears their company is about to go out of business. While they wait for news for corporate, Michael forces the entire office to engage in a murder mystery game to distract them from the impending bad news.
Michael takes plenty of criticism throughout the episode for his seemingly aloof attitude toward the possibility of Dunder Mifflin's bankruptcy. As the storyline progresses, however, it becomes clear that Michal's goal is to keep everyone's minds off of the entire matter, while also livening their spirits. Ultimately, this proves to be a moment where Michael's unique managing style came in handy.
The Michael Scott Paper Company
One of season 5 's most famous storylines saw Michael quit Dunder Mifflin and start his own rival paper company, called The Michael Scott Paper Company. Along with Pam and Ryan, Michael began to undercut Dunder Mifflin's prices, stealing their clients out from underneath them and ruthlessly bleeding their Scranton branch.
Though their business model was ultimately untenable in the long run, Michael and his compatriots were able to hold out long enough to make David Wallace and the other executives at Dunder Mifflin nervous. In the end, the Michael Scott Paper Company was attained by Dunder Mifflin in what equated to a multi-million dollar buyout, putting a cap on one of the few special moments when the Office fans were actually rooting for Michael Scott's success.
Loose Lips Sink Ships
In the premiere episode of The Office's season 6, entitled "Gossip," Michael comes to regret telling the entire office of Stanley Hudson's affair with his nurse Cynthia. In an attempt to confuse his coworkers into forgetting the rumor, he begins spreading false information about everyone else. The office descends into chaos as everyone tries to figure out where all the rumors are coming from.
Though his coworkers are able to trace the rumors back to him in the end, Michael's plan was actually quite genius. In fact, he was indeed able to take the focus off of Stanley's affair, keeping the truth from the rest of his workers. Unfortunately for Stanley, Michael's success was short-lived, as he accidentally revealed the truth to Terri, Stanley's wife, over the phone shortly thereafter.
Dinner Plans
Perhaps the most infamous scheme on the part of Michael Scott occurs in the season 4 episode "Dinner Party." In an effort to finally get Jim and Pam to come to dinner at the condo that he shared with Jan, Michael tells the entire office not to make plans on account of having to work late. After confirming they had no plans, Michael fakes a rebellious call to corporate, sending everyone home early and leaving Jim and Pam without an excuse to get out of coming over for dinner.
This is a rare instance wherein one of Michael's lofty plans worked to perfection, even garnering begrudging respect from Jim. What ensues that evening is infamous among The Office fans as one of the cringiest and most beloved episodes in the entire series, as Jim and Pam are forced to endure the awkward tension of Michael and Jan's toxic home environment.