First and foremost - if you've never seriously watched "The Office," this is your Spoiler Warning! The following contains information from the show, so if you did plan on watching it at some point, maybe reading this isn't the best decision for you.

Michael Scott - if you've watched the show (which I'm going to assume you have if you're at this point) then you're definitely familiar with this Regional Manager; and chances are, pitted up against some of the greatest television characters ever, he's anything but your favorite. He's unbelievably petty, unable to adapt, and in all honesty, kind of an idiot (at least in some regards). He constantly makes sexist and racist remarks to appear likable (yes, I said that right) because he's ultimately an oblivious individual, and has no notion of what is socially acceptable and what isn't. He's put his company in jeopardy on more than one occasion, and is completely unproductive - the majority of his time spent at work is usually interacting with other employees in what can easily be described as a less than productive manner.

Not a great start for the man, but let's think about this for a second. If everything I said above were true, with no exception, Michael Scott would be the most awful television character in history. Why? Because he would have no redeemable qualities! He would be an utterly flat character, with no real character development or connection to the audience. He would be hated, reviled, even, and people might not even be able to watch the show because they would be so frustrated with his obstinance.

I want to take you back to Season 3, Episode 16 - this was, in my opinion, the very first time I really understood what Michael's character was truly about, and the moment I realized there was some humanity in his creation. At the beginning of the episode, he asks Dwight, "What was the most inspiring thing I ever said to you?" He's worried, of course, because he has a seminar to attend, where he's going to speak in front of business students and tell them about his company, and he wants to say something inspirational so they'll like him (which is his character's goal). Dwight replies with "you told me don't be an idiot, and it changed my life."

Michael shrugs it off, since it's anything but inspiring, but let's examine this for a moment. Everything this man does from how he acts, to where he eats, to who he fires, even - is in line with one very simple concept:

Michael Scott wants to be liked. By everyone, no less. It's an exaggeration of the pathological tendency of people to be liked by those around them. To Michael, everything is about people. Keep that in mind as I continue.

So later in the episode, Michael goes to the seminar, and is ultimately embarrassed by his temp, Ryan, who tells the class his business isn't viable and will probably go under. Michael storms out, angry, and the two reconvene at the office in the next scene with Ryan begging Michael not to fire him. And Michael says arguably the most inspiring thing on the show (so far, I still have a season left to go):

"Fire you? No no no... a good manager doesn't fire people, Ryan. He hires people, inspires people."

Ryan looks at him weirdly.

"People, Ryan. And people will never go out of business."

Wow! Arguably the best piece of business advice to come out of this show, from the mouth of... Michael Scott? It's surprising, but should it be? He is the boss, after all - why is it so surprising that the boss of the show ends up with the prolific adage?

Because if you watch carefully, it actually makes perfect sense. People! Michael's literal business is paper, and he always tells people his business is paper because that's what he think his business is, but it's not, it's people. And we see this transformation later in the show, when he quits, starting his own paper company in the basement of the office. He doesn't know anything about paper! He has no method of distribution, no form of sales, no office - but he has Pam. And he has Ryan. He finds people around him and even though he's a bumbling idiot at times, he understands the business of personal relationships and creates them constantly. He starts his company from the relationships he's built with people. He puts his trust in them, inspires them, and they come through for him, and ultimately, they make him look like a good boss to the people up top who only see the productivity of the branch and his name in charge.

So let me ask you this: is "The Office" about a buffoon of a boss who not only keeps his company alive despite being incompetent at every angle, but also sees it flourish to a point it's the highest branch in the company,

OR,

Is "The Office" about a boss who works tirelessly every day at maintaining relationships with the people around him, creating a good business through their success despite never being productive in a corporate sense of the word?

It's really hard to call. Sometimes, Michael Scott is just too stupid to give credit to. And man, he can be so annoying. But what makes more sense logically? That a company just luckily becomes one of its headquarters top branches? Or that maybe, just maybe, there's a chance it's not all by chance. Maybe there is a method to the madness. After all, a company is created from the ground up, and what's the most important aspect of business?

People.

So let me ask you this, would you work for Michael Scott?