{"id":61454,"date":"2016-12-06T15:01:14","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T21:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=61454"},"modified":"2025-10-28T09:44:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T14:44:04","slug":"develop-savoir-faire-james-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/develop-savoir-faire-james-bond\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Develop the Savoir-Faire of James Bond"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Novel,<\/a><\/p>\n

In the film versions of Ian Fleming\u2019s original James Bond novels, 007 often wins the day through the use of special high-tech gadgets furnished by the Q Division.<\/p>\n

But in the books that birthed the character, Bond very rarely relies on wiz-bang gizmos, or really, very many tools at all, to defeat the world\u2019s super villains.<\/p>\n

The literary Bond certainly knows how to wield a gun and drive a car like his cinematic counterpart, but his equipment is comparatively minimal. The secret to his success instead rests more primarily on his possession of a singular quality:<\/p>\n

Savoir-faire<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a wonderful French phrase that roughly means: knowing what to do in any situation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A man with savoir-faire is adaptable and adroit and has the knowledge and ability \u2013 the capacity for action \u2013 that enables him to respond appropriately in a wide variety of circumstances. It especially refers, Merriam-Webster tells us, to demonstrating \u201ca polished sureness in social behavior,\u201d but it broadly applies to having the confidence to deftly handle every conceivable scenario.<\/p>\n

In other words, James Bond to a T.<\/p>\n

Bond is able to adapt to and navigate any environment, whether rural or urban. No matter whether he finds himself in a high-stakes casino in France, a posh ski lodge in the Swiss Alps, or a poor fishing village in Japan, Bond knows what to do. Whether he\u2019s trying to seduce a beautiful woman, confidently converse with a megalomaniac, or discern whether someone is friend or foe, he knows how to respond. Polished sureness in social behavior? Bond\u2019s got it in spades. And he also knows how to make invisible ink with his urine, dive from great heights, and kill a man with a single stab.<\/p>\n

Not only that, 007 does it all with seeming ease and smoothness. He\u2019s debonair. He\u2019s suave. Indeed, that which Mr. Big, Bond\u2019s nemesis in Live and Let Die<\/em><\/a>, says about his own approach to life, could also be said of Bond\u2019s:<\/p>\n

\u201cI take pleasure\u2026in the polish and finesse which I can bring to my operations\u2026to impart an absolute rightness, a high elegance, to the exaction of my affairs. Each day\u2026I try to set myself still higher standards of subtlety and technical polish so that each of my proceedings may be a work of art, bearing my signature.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you\u2019ve ever wanted to develop James Bond-like savoir-faire<\/em>, you\u2019re in luck. Below we offer all the secrets of 007\u2019s playbook.<\/p>\n

Note: All quotes come from original Bond novels written by Ian Fleming. A list of the books used is found at the bottom of the article. <\/em><\/p>\n

How to Develop the Savoir-Faire of James Bond<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The paradox of any performance that seems effortless, is that tons of effort invariably went into producing that effect. When a master pianist plays a sweeping, flawless concerto, all the audience sees is the beautiful finished product, while missing the thousands upon thousands of hours in practice it took to achieve the seamless result.<\/p>\n

So it is with the attainment of savoir-faire<\/em>. Knowing how to act in any situation, and do so smoothly, requires extensive training, preparation, and practice. To look like you\u2019re not trying hard, you have to try very hard when no one\u2019s looking.<\/p>\n

This training involves the development both of one\u2019s skillset and one\u2019s mindset. We\u2019ll thoroughly cover each.<\/p>\n

The Preparation<\/u><\/h3>\n

\u201cAs a gambler [Bond] knew it was a mistake to rely on too small a capital.\u201d \u2013Casino Royale<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fleming was referring to monetary capital, but the same principle applies to all of our everyday \u201coperations.\u201d There are many kinds of capital, from social alliances to brain knowledge, and amassing these resources is something you should do before <\/em>you set out in an endeavor.<\/p>\n

Indeed, rigorous, thorough preparation was arguably the <\/em>central key in Bond\u2019s ability to pull off a mission. As noted in Moonraker<\/em><\/a>, he was a follower of war strategist Carl von Clausewitz\u2019s principle of first making your base secure, and then proceeding to action.<\/p>\n

Here are the various strategies Bond employed to secure his base:<\/p>\n

The Foundation of Savoir-Faire: Competence in a Wide Variety of Skills<\/h3>\n

If you wish to know what to do in any situation, you quite obviously need to have a diverse set of skills in your back pocket. You never know what kind of environment you\u2019ll end up in and what circumstances you\u2019ll find yourself facing.<\/p>\n

Bond\u2019s missions took him all around the world and dropped him into all kinds of settings; success thus required that he develop a diverse skillset that encompassed a wide variety of areas, from the hard to the soft.<\/p>\n

Tactical Skills<\/strong>. As a secret agent, being proficient in the primary tricks of his trade was a matter of life and death. He was therefore adept with combatives, weaponry, and other miscellaneous tactical skills, including:<\/p>\n