For ten years, the world was treated to the antics of Calvin and Hobbes. The creation of Ohioan Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes attracted millions of fans and critical praise. In a retrospective published earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal said the strip... “is about the richness of the imagination, the subversiveness of creativity and the irreconcilability of private yearnings and worldly reality.” That’s pretty deep for a comic strip that shared the same page as “Garfield” and “Family Circus” for almost a decade.

While most fans love Calvin and Hobbes for its fun and general creativity, the strip also presents more than a few insightful comments on business. Genuine fans of the strip might think it’s a bit of stretch to look for business meaning in “Calvin and Hobbes” but the main character’s creativity, ambition, and acumen make him a born entrepreneur.

The Calvin and Hobbes MBA

The "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip comprises nearly 3,000 individual comics. We simply decided to focus on three that jumped out. It's entirely possible we look at more business lessons from "Calvin and Hobbes" in the future.

See What’s Possible

One of the hallmarks of “Calvin and Hobbes” was Calvin’s incredibly vivid imagination. From conquering worlds and building elaborate snowmen to the very existence of his best friend, Calvin see things others don’t. One classic example of this involves Calvin’s “transmogrifier”.

The best entrepreneurs are dreamers. Steve Jobs looked at a phone and saw a potential computer. The Wright Brothers looked at bicycle parts and saw an airplane. Sure, Calvin’s “transmogrifier” is a long way from functional but at least he has past the first step: seeing potential where others only see reality.

Don’t Wait to Get Started

This specific “Calvin and Hobbes” strip is a little different than most. For the majority of the comic’s run, Calvin was not known to be particularly driven. He wasn’t lazy, either. His schemes and imagination clearly took exceptional effort. This strip shows that Calvin actually is ambitious, he’s just driven by different motivations than others, including his best friend Hobbes. Calvin wants to get things done… but only the things he wants to do.

Be Your Own Inspiration

Throughout most of the series, Calvin and Hobbes often have profound discussions about the nature of the world. Sometimes, these discussions can be pessimistic and somewhat dark. Occasionally, however, Calvin displays the kind of youthful optimism that still believes the world’s problems can be solved. He hasn’t given up on living in a better world. Of course, he wouldn’t! Calvin can almost see and touch the world he wants to live in. Surprisingly, he understands something that many skilled entrepreneurs don’t. If you want something to change, it’s often on you to change it.