Saturday, 2 December 2017

7 Risks that Come from Scaling Your Business

So you’ve launched a business and you’ve gotten a taste of success; you’re thinking you may be ready to start scaling up, taking your business to the next level and driving revenue through the roof. But as you grow, your resources and investment has to scale proportionately, and you need to ensure your infrastructure and organizational systems can handle the scaling. If you aren’t adequately prepared for the scaling up process, you could risk your entire business. Consider the following risks that are associated with business growth before initiating any measures to scale your startup.


  1. You’ll work long hours. Many entrepreneurs struggle to find work-life balance, and if you’re already feeling the weight of the enormous amount of time, effort, and energy it takes to generate and sustain business, remember that it will take just as much work to scale up every step of the way. Growth doesn’t happen overnight, so you’re bound to be working overtime for quite some time before you start seeing results from all that investment; even hiring an entire team to help you out won’t get you off the hook for giving it all you’ve got to grow bigger and better.

  2. Your existing customers may feel alienated. In order to scale your business, it’s going to be necessary for you to divert a lot of time, attention, and resources to growing your audience, exploring new markets, and attracting new customers. Chances are good that your loyal customers — the ones that have brought you all your success in the first place — have come to expect a certain level of customer service, and they may be frustrated by changes associated with growth. Especially if your business’s scaling means developing new products, existing customers may worry they’ll miss out on the original draws your business offered.

  3. You may be caught in the tide. According to Entrepreneur, “many rapidly growing businesses get burned by investing in more capacity and taking on higher fixed expenses, not realizing that their growth may be a temporary thing.” As the old saying goes, it’s critical that you don’t put the cart before the horse; make sure you’ve got a solid system for predicting demand, sales, and trends and that you have a plan for adjusting both fixed and variable expenses to stay profitable regardless of market fluctuations. Of course, it’s not really about being able to predict the future; it’s really just about having flexibility built into your business plan to protect yourself should you find yourself caught in a tidal market.

  4. You may expose yourself to legal issues. Scaling up usually necessitates hiring more employees, which opens the door for human resources related legal issues. Depending on the number of people you employ, you may be legally required to offer health insurance and other benefits, and laws vary widely regarding hours of work, breaks, downsizing and layoffs, and other employment rights issues. As your business grows, it will become more and more necessary to understand how the employment law system works to protect yourself, your employees, and your business.

  5. You may have to loosen the reigns. If you built your company from the ground up, it may be a real challenge to accept the fact that the management and leadership structures that worked well for your team of 25 doesn’t work quite so well now that you’ve grown to a staff of 250. Scaling up brings challenges that may require adaptations to your leadership structure, up to and including loosening the reigns on your business and delegating tasks to people more qualified than yourself in specific areas.

  6. You’ll eventually have to trim the fat. Too many entrepreneurs make the mistake of believing growth means upward, outward, bigger, and more; in reality, scaling means outgrowing, shifting, and changing things up. That means you may find strategies that no longer work, departments which are no longer efficient, and even staff members who don’t fit the company culture or cause unnecessary setbacks and controversies. Accepting that not everything will work and that sometimes you’ll have to cut ties will help your company transform.

  7. You may be at increased risk for cybercrime. Growth can be a double-edged sword when it comes to cyber security, since more employees means more potential avenues for hacker infiltration and because hackers are naturally more attracted to more successful enterprises. A 2016 Ponemon Institute report found that employee negligence was the top concern for more than half (53 percent) of businesses as it relates to data breaches. If you don’t find ways to ingrain cyber security into your company culture, employees may accidentally expose your business to enormous risk.

If you’ve been debating whether you should take steps to scale your business, be sure you’ve mitigated the potential risks of doing so as much as possible before investing the time, energy, and money it will take to grow.



Source: B2C
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Friday, 1 December 2017

52 Reasons to Embrace Marketing Operations

What is a Marketing Operations mindset? I made a commitment to share 50 reasons, over Twitter, to embrace Marketing Operations; one tweet per day over the next 50 days. This shaped my thinking for what I now call Marketing Operations 2.0, and led to the development of the course I now teach for UC Extension and my own company. I added a couple of new reasons and organized the list into four topical categories: enterprise transformation, marketing accountability, marketing efficiency and effectiveness, and marketing transformation. Enjoy!


marketing operations reasons


Enterprise Transformation


  1. A generator of generative learning. Marketing Operations = greater capacity to create the future & reinvent Marketing from within.

  2. Align the yin to Web 2.0’s yang. Marketing Operations provides infrastructure, knowledge sharing, transparency from the inside out, complementing Social Media’s outside-in approach.

  3. Competitive advantage. Organizations committed to Marketing Operations out-perform the competition in efficiency, effectiveness.

  4. Customer-centricity. Mobilizing behind the customer requires cross-functional alignment & collaboration. Marketing Operations drives this effort.

  5. Early warning. Competitive, market dynamics can be opportunities or landmines. Marketing Operations tracks leading indicators to manage turbulence.

  6. Enterprise health. Like a good circulatory system, MO enables blood flow between Marketing & other groups.

  7. Greater shareholder equity. Alignment of data, forecasts & metrics leads to more predictable results.

  8. Live the brand. Narrow the gap between your marketing messages and your enterprise’s actual performance.

  9. M & A integration. Large orgs combining = disparate systems + information silos + competing cultures. Marketing Operations enables 1+1 = 3.

  10. Robust institutional memory. Scattered memory = wasted investment. Marketing Operations = documented, shared knowledge.

  11. Scalable marketing. Organizations over-relying on individual heroics waste resources, burn out people, don’t learn from experience.

  12. Smarter decision-making. The right data + process + technology = maximum learning IQ = breakthrough results.

  13. Superior customer experience. Marketing Operations aligns touch points so actual experience resonates with brand promise.

  14. Sustainable market leadership. Marketing Operations provokes continuous innovation through business intelligence, voice of the customer, process, company-wide involvement.

  15. Sustainability. A Marketing Operations approach (solid foundation, conscious stewardship) is built to last.

    Marketing Accountability



  16. Better corporate citizenship. Marketing Operations owns marketing performance, accountability, compliance (including sustainability).

  17. Compliance leadership. Laggards no more, Marketing Operations helps Marketing set quality/performance standards in the enterprise.

  18. Credible dashboards. Garbage in. G.arbage out. A nifty looking dashboard is useless if its output is questionable or non-actionable.

  19. Fiscal responsibility. Use it or lose it = misuse it and lose it anyway. Marketing Operations delivers budget management discipline.

  20. Investment insurance. Marketing is a top organizational spender. A big budget without operations to monitor effectiveness is fiscally negligent.

  21. Marketing strategy = Enterprise strategy. Marketing Operations is key to aligning Marketing to enterprise strategic objectives.

  22. Meaningful metrics. Marketing dashboards are useless without a Marketing Operations focus to determine what & why to measure.

  23. Metrics granularity. Measurable data has grown 10x since 2000. It takes a genius to manage this information explosion. Marketing Operations is a great home for such talent.

  24. Quality quant-ing. Analytics should not become anal-ytics. Marketing Operations keeps the focus on stats that matter.

  25. Resource justification. Demonstrate the value of your programs and people; protect them from being axed in tough times.

  26. Risk/contingency management. Marketing decisions can create exposure. Marketing Operations owns the plan to minimize the risk.

  27. Self-discipline on your own terms. Proactive accountability is better than enforced accountability.

  28. Smart marketing portfolio. Your marketing mix will be cut it if you can’t tie it to results. Marketing Operations ensures value.

    Marketing Efficiency and Effectiveness



  29. Bridge the strategy-execution gap. Marketing Operations provides operational muscle, agility, measurement rigor, x-functional alignment needed to realize strategic vision.

  30. An operational roadmap for effectiveness. Not just great for individual performance or activities, Marketing Operations systemizes success.

  31. Better benchmarking. Marketing is the least benchmarked of all corporate functions. Marketing Operations uses benchmarking to perform critical gap analysis.

  32. Clear priorities. Organizations tend to be reactive, don’t distinguish between what is important and what is urgent. Marketing Operations helps keep focus on the right tasks.

  33. Closed-loop marketing. Leveraging people, process & technology through Marketing Operations is the only realistic path to this vision.

  34. Collaborative planning catalyst. Marketing Operations creates a cross-functional sandbox for strategic process and team learning.

  35. Competency development. Marketing change requires developing new skill-sets. Marketing Operations leads strategy to close talent gap.

  36. Leveraged leads. 94% of leads are wasted. 80% of disqualified leads buy anyway. Marketing Operations optimizes lead conversion process.

  37. More bang for the technology buck. Underutilized marketing automation investment = a cool car in your garage that you never drive.

  38. Pipeline visibility. Business complexity and disparate systems break the information loop. Marketing Operations is the best bet to repair it.

    Marketing Transformation



  39. Rationalized change roadmap. Marketing Operations builds the business case for new marketing improvement initiatives.

  40. A catalyst for positive change. Need to do marketing differently? The key is people, more than technology or process. Marketing Operations Mobilizes people power.

  41. A growth path for the operationally inclined. Marketing Operations is a great career path for project managers, analysts, change management pros, etc.

  42. Art + Science. Marketing Operations injects left-brain thinking into typically right-brained Marketing function.

  43. Chief-of-staff role. CMOs need an operational partner to help transform the brand from a vision to an experience.

  44. Consistent performance. Implementation is uneven in most orgs. Marketing Operations is key to delivering a standard of excellence.

  45. Evolve Marketing from a service center to a strategic partner. Driving business intelligence, innovation, growth, customer experience, change = clout.

  46. Higher stature for Marketing. Marketing Operations is key to delivering and demonstrating strategic contribution.

  47. Marketing = profit/value center. Perceived cost center no more; Marketing Operations-enabled Marketing drives strategic growth.

  48. Opportunity to be a hero. Marketing Operations addresses major enterprise challenges. There are lots of gaps to close.

  49. Shift from firefighting to strategically driven action. Marketing Operations streamlines execution and creates a foundation for long-term planning.

  50. The CMO revolving door. Marketing chiefs think short-term when their tenures are brief. Marketing Operations = long view.

  51. Truly integrated marketing. Marketing Operations is the bridge builder integral to transforming the vision to reality.

  52. Turnover turnaround. The best marketers will flee poorly run departments. Marketing Operations puts the burden on the system, not the individual, so good people want to stay.


Source: B2C
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Prince Harry Announcing that Donald Trump Is Not Welcome at Royal Wedding Because He’s ‘A Serious Threat to Human Rights’ Is False

Flickr


Reports that Prince Harry said President Donald Trump is not welcome at the royal wedding next year are false. Rumors that the British royal, who recently announced his engagement to actor Meghan Markle, said Trump was not invited to the spring 2018 wedding stemmed from a viral clickbait headline.


According to PolitiFact, the fake claim originated on Nova Magazine, an entertainment website that publishes satire and clickbait news. The article, which went viral on social media, claimed Prince Harry indicated that Trump would not be at the wedding because he “is a serious threat to human rights.” It purported:


England’s Prince Harry is getting married, to the disappointment of aspiring princesses everywhere, and it’s looking like president Trump will not be on the guest list.



Meghan Markle is an American citizen and Donald Trump might expect an invitation to the wedding, expected to take place next spring.


However, Prince Harry is reportedly privately highly critical of Trump, with US Weekly reporting earlier this year that he “is not a fan” of Trump.


The article, however, never makes any mention of the royal’s alleged quote contained in the headline. Why? Because Prince Harry never actually said it. The report itself acknowledges that an unnamed, “close source” told Us Weekly in February that the royal thinks Trump is a threat to human rights, but there’s no evidence that Harry himself said or believes it as the title implies.


While a number of outlets have speculated over a potential invitation to the president (and former President Barack Obama), including a Newsweek article that the clickbait report cites, the guest list has not yet been confirmed. The couple announced their engagement just days ago and one of the only details that has been released by the royal family so far is that the wedding will take place at Windsor Castle in May 2018.




Newsweek reports that if Trump were to be invited, it would not only lead to additional security costs, but also the possibility of protests. “When Prime Minister Theresa May offered Trump a state visit early this year, polls showed that 2 million people intended to take part in a protest against him. The risk of embarrassment, were such a protest to occur at a royal wedding, might put the couple off inviting such a controversial figure.” (This section of the report was also used in the clickbait report but, again, does not indicate whether Trump will receive an invitation). Additionally, the “Suits” star has criticized Trump in the past—making it all the more unlikely that the U.S. president will receive an invitation.


In their first joint interview as a newly-engaged couple, Markle revealed that the proposal “was so sweet and natural and very romantic.” Harry also said that he knew Markle was the one “the first time we met,” according to royal commentator Victoria Murphy. The pair, who met in 2016, will be living in Nottingham Cottage in London. Their first joint royal engagement took place on Dec. 1.



While it is unlikely that Trump will attend the royal wedding, Prince Harry has not actually stated that he is not invited. A guest list has not yet been announced.


Here are some examples of people sharing the fake story on social media:


Social Media Shares Fake Story about Prince Harry Saying Trump Is Not Welcome at Wedding














Have you seen the fake story about Prince Harry announcing that Donald Trump is not welcome at the royal wedding circulating social media? What are your thoughts on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement? Sound off in the comments section below!


Photo credit: Chatham House, Flickr



Source: B2C
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How to Get Facebook’s Video Starter Kit for Businesses

We’ve talked about the supplies you need to get set up for video marketing here on our blog and how expensive video marketing in general can be. We’ve also talked a good bit about how important video marketing is, regardless of the cost.


Facebook understands both of these facts to be true. This is why they’ve created their Video Starter Kits, which are available to businesses in the US based on approval. All you’ll need to provide is your smart phone, and they’ll hook you up with the rest.


Let’s take a closer look at Facebook’s Video Starter Kit for businesses and how you can get one for free (and what to do if you can’t)…


What is Facebook’s Video Starter Kit?


Facebook’s Video Starter Kit is part physical and part digital (at least that’s what I’m guessing). Businesses who get a video starter kit will be granted three different things:


  • A tripod for your phone, which will allow you to shoot video without a shaky hand

  • A list of suggested mobile apps that can be used to edit videos

  • Tips about video ads from other businesses, which will be beneficial to help you get the most out of Facebook Ads

Facebook video starter kit


These video starter kits are completely free, and since the landing page to request one mentions video ads multiple times, they’re almost definitely around to encourage small businesses to invest more into the ads system. Facebook is making it more accessible, after all, with tips, a tripod, and recommended apps. They know video marketing is important, and they want to be a central part of your marketing campaign.


How to Get A Facebook Video Starter Kit


In order to get a Facebook Video Starter Kit, you need to have a Facebook Business Page for a business in the United States. If you fit that description, click over to this page. All you have to do is fill out the form, and Facebook will consider your request for a kit.



It’s that simple. Only one person per business and address can obtain a kit. Not everyone who applies will get one due to the limited supplies. Because of this, if you’re eligible for one and interested, apply immediately before the supply runs out.


Want to Make Your Own?


For all of our readers and customers who aren’t eligible for the video kit, you can breathe easy; making your own video kit isn’t too difficult. You provide the tripod to fit your smart phone, and we’ll provide the rest.


Apps & Tools to Improve Your Marketing Videos


Part 2 of the kit gives businesses a list of suggestions from Facebook detailing different apps they recommend for video editing. I haven’t seen that list, but I can recommend a few of my own favorite tools that I use regularly for this purpose. These include:



    • Camtasia for full-control, do-everything-you-want desktop editing



  • Quik (from GoPro) for desktop or mobile video editing

  • Lapse It to create time lapse videos in seconds

  • Overvideo, to quickly add captions & subtitles (or other text overlay) to your video and easily set how long you want each to appear on-screen

  • Shakr, of course, for turning your video clips into a stunning, engaging video like the one below.

Facebook Video Ads Tips


The video ad tips are the last part of the Facebook video starter kit. Understanding how to use the platform correctly is essential. Fortunately, both the Shakr team and myself have a lot of experience with video ads and can provide a few helpful tips of our own. These include:



    • Don’t choose the video view objective just because you’re using a video. If you want website traffic as a result of the video, choose site traffic for your objective; if you want conversions, choose conversions. Facebook takes your objective into account when deciding which users to show your ad to, so you want this to be relevant.

    • Count on your video being played without sound. About 85% of videos on Facebook are played without sound, so add closed captions if necessary. Adding textual cues, like introductions to key people in the video or subtitles to make organization apparent, can also be immensely helpful.

    • Choose smart headlines. You know how that enormous chunk of Facebook videos are played without sound? Use headlines and text descriptions to combat that. If users are skimming, use those brief lines of copy to tell them why they should pay attention to the video and watch it.

    • Use storytelling to demonstrate your brand’s personality and mission. Stories resonate with people much more than facts and logic ever will. Use that to your advantage, and incorporate your brand’s unique personality with its story to win over new customers.



  • Know how to track success. Do you know which metrics matter and which don’t? This is important to long-term success, allowing for more effective split testing.

Final Thoughts


Facebook’s Video Starter Kit is 100% free, and it’s a great set of tools to have. If you can get your hands on one, excellent! Who doesn’t love free equipment and some tips that come directly from an esteemed ad platform? Follow the instructions detailed above, and you might just find one at our doorstep in a few weeks!


Fortunately, though, if you’re unable to get access to an official Facebook video starter kit, bookmark this post for our own app recommendations and video ad tips, and you’ll have your own! Once you’ve filmed your video clips, don’t forget to edit them. Use Shakr’s video creation tools and turn your gorgeous clips into a high-converting video.



Source: B2C
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Michelle Obama Seen Hula-Hooping In A 1930s Great Depression Photograph Is A Fake Image

Flickr


Former First Lady Michelle Obama seen hula-hooping in a 1930s Great Depression photograph is an obvious fake image. There is no truth to a claim that a woman time-traveled to the 1930s and could be seen hula-hooping.


Where did this image allegedly showing a time-traveler hula hooping in the background of an old photo originate? The digital manipulated image was included in a list compiled by the web site Ranker entitled “14 Crazy Pictures of People Who Might Just Be Time Travelers”:



Despite being amusing in its silliness, the above image does not show an actual time traveler going back to the 1930s to hula hoop as debunked by Snopes. Of course, the biggest clue that the above photograph is fake is that the time traveling hula hooper in the background is actually a pretty well-known political figure: Michelle Obama.


Rather, the original photograph is actually a famous image by documentary photographer Dorothy Lange who took the photograph in Washington’s Yakima Valley in 1939. You can find more information about the photograph at the University of Washington’s Great Depression in Washington State Project about the scene.


It shows a family who traveled to the area by freight train:



Snopes noted that the fake image was first published by Moonbattery.com, an extreme right-wing web site that has previously spread misinformation. For example, Moonbattery.com published an article in 2010 entitled “More Obama Vacation Photos.” That article used the doctored photograph satirically (along with several similar images) to criticize former President Barack Obama and his wife for vacationing during the Great Recession.


Despite not finding the exact image of Michelle Obama hula hooping that was used to create this “time traveling” photograph, there is evidence to suggest that it may have been taken during a 2009 healthy kids fair on the South Lawn of the White House as seen in the video:



The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1939, and was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors.


Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its lowest point, some 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half the country’s banks had failed.


What did you think of the digitally manipulated image? Did you believe it or see people sharing it falsely on social media? Let us know in the comments section.


Photo credit: DFID – UK Department for International Development, Flickr


B&W Photo Credits: Snopes



Source: B2C
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Why Scrum Teams Need to Learn

ArtsyBee / Pixabay


System optimization: Upgrading Team Competencies


When developing complex innovative products, the Development Team will have different a workload for each one of their members. The speed of the entire Development Team is often limited by the speed of the specialist with peak loads. To overcome this problem, employees need to expand their competencies and help each other. In this case, it will be possible to switch from local to system optimization.


Narrow specialists — unoptimized system


Meet a Development Team in which John, Nick and Mike are working. They are narrow specialists. Nick works with the green technology only. John specializes in blue technology, and Mike – in yellow technology. The Development Team is cross-functional because it has all the necessary skills to develop an Increment.


The Development Team gets features from the Product Owner. Most of them require all three technologies: green, blue and yellow. Imagine the Development Team pulled three features during the Sprint Planning, and here’s a shot of their Scrum Board somewhere in the middle of the Sprint:



John and Nick are still working on the first feature, because there is lots of work to do on the green and blue technologies. Mike has finished working on his part of the work in the first and second features and now has started the third one. What is he going to do next when it’s done? Most likely, he will ask the Product Owner if he can pull the next feature from the Product Backlog and work on it. The result of the Sprint is a large amount of unfinished work in progress (WIP), and only one feature is Done during the Sprint.



Many Scrum Teams work the same way. The number of completed features in the Sprint is determined by the developer with the peak workload. In our example Sprint, this is John.


Note that in the example above, all the developers worked, as they thought, very efficiently, and diligently exploited their competencies. But the whole system was sub-optimized – and only one feature is Done.


Expanding competencies make the whole system more effective.


Imagine that our guys have upgraded their skills and the matrix of competences now looks better:



Let’s make a thought experiment and see if the Development Team became more effective. For the simplicity let’s assume they got the same features again.


Nick could help John who would have had the peak load with the blue technology. The team would have been able to complete two business tasks instead of one. Paul would have been ahead anyway, but he would have been now working on the green and yellow parts of the last task, waiting for help from the two other guys working on the blue part.



The result of the Sprint is that two features are Done and the workload is distributed more evenly between Development Team members.


It is important that we have not added any new “resources” to the team, because it would have increased the cost of the team and the number communication channels. We’ve just started to use existing resources more effectively. When developing complex products, system optimization is closely related to the need for learning. Team learning is a continuous activity in Scrum and in learning organizations.


Team learning is vital because teams, not individuals, are the fundamental learning unit in modern organizations. This is where the rubber meets the road; unless teams can learn, the organization cannot learn (Senge, Peter M.. The Fifth Discipline).


We are forced not to learn


We have been raised in the paradigm of classical management which assumes that people should maximally exploit their current expertise. Just have a look at any service dedicated to job searching and you will find a lot of vacancies like: Senior Java Developer, Middle .NET developer and so on.


For decades, we have been building functional fragmented companies in which people were destined to become soulless cogs that need to be lubricated from time to time. You have to put them into the necessary place of the organizational mechanism. You can also discard them at anytime. As a result, in large organizations, employees often do not want to learn. They resist attempts to expand their competencies and even consider it a waste of time.


The industrial paradigm makes us so focused on using our present skills that we forget we can learn something else. You need to create conditions in your organization which will make people want to get new knowledge.


Our prevailing system of management has destroyed our people. People are born with intrinsic motivation, self-respect, dignity, curiosity to learn, joy in learning. (Senge, Peter M.. The Fifth Discipline).


How to help people to learn


If you want the Development Team to learn and become more flexible and responsive, you need to create certain conditions for learning and change the system. People stop actively learning and mastering new skills for a reason. It is necessary to change the structure to activate people’s desire to grasp knowledge again.


Helps learning


  • Product paradigm, focus on long-term goals

  • Co-located teams

  • The team is 100% dedicated and works on one product

  • Stable team

  • All-at-once management (ROI, Сycle Time)

  • The Development Team is loyal to the Product Owner and works on one product

  • Developers get a salary increase when they upgrade their competencies (T-shaped people)

  • Cross-functional cross-component teams

Impedes learning


  • Project paradigm, focus on short-term goals

  • Distributed teams

  • Team members assigned to several projects

  • Resource pool: after the end of the project, people are distributed between new projects

  • Focus on individual productivity (number of closed tasks, man-hours), which stimulates people to exploit their current expertise

  • The Development Team has functional managers influencing their career paths

  • Developers get a salary increase when they become more skillful in their major competency

  • Component teams

I want to draw more conclusions. Let’s say you have a few narrow specialists on your team and you understand that the Team could be more effective.


First, it’s a long-term investment. You will need a lot of patience. I start with me drawing the team’s attention to the fact that narrow specialization make them less flexible.


Secondly, we often inspect and adapt a competency matrix.


Third, almost all the teams I have worked with start using Kanban sooner or later. It is a great tool that can be used within a Sprint. Kanban limits the amount of unfinished work, makes queues painfully visible and encourages employees to help each other.


Key thoughts of this article:


  • Pay attention to the system optimization.

  • When creating complex products the team needs to learn.

  • Learning is a part of the work in Scrum.

  • There are a number of system factors that can drive or impede learning.

Scrum ON!



Source: B2C
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18 Must-See Movies To Extract Leadership & Management Lessons From

Derks24 / Pixabay


Watching movies is a great way to unwind, relax and be entertained. Sometimes, however, movies can provide us learning opportunities, particularly in the area of leadership and management. Here are some of the movies I’ve watched over the years and from which I extracted plenty of insights and learning.


1. The Social Network (2010)


What struck me about this movie was that if you can identify a need that isn’t being satisfied, what you have is an opportunity on your hands. What steps you take next to grow that novel idea is your journey towards success or failure. In this case, it was a huge success based on self-belief. This movie captures the true challenges entrepreneurs of today face.


2. Wall Street (1987)


“Greed is good” – well at least Gordon Gekko says it is. Staged in the backdrop of the biggest and most famous stock market in the world, Wall Street touches upon a dilemma we all face at some point in our careers. Do we stay true to our values, principles and ethics? Or do we give into the wealth and power that we can possibly achieve?


3. The Big Short (2010)


This movie, about the 2008 financial crisis, has been hailed by many as the best movie about the business world. It explains the complexities and jargon of the financial world with such simplicity that anyone can understand and appreciate it. And as you make sense of what’s going on in the financial world your alarm bells will start sounding off as you sit in awe and bewilderment.


4. 12 Angry Men (1957)


The courtroom drama may not provide you management lessons in a way you expect it to, however, there’s much to extract from it. Largely, the movie emphasizes on key characteristics that business leaders essentially must portray, such as persuasion, group decision making and consensus-building.


5. Up In The Air (2009)


This one’s probably one of the few movies out there that HR professionals can truly appreciate and relate to. Letting go of people isn’t easy and that’s one of the reminders we get from George Clooney’s character. But more than that, it’s a reminder to all leaders that organizations aren’t just about complex and advanced processes and technology – they’re about people.


6. Other People’s Money (1991)


Corporate control is like a charging bull – you don’t want to be caught sleeping in its path. This movie highlights the struggles faced when corporate giants overpower smaller companies, particularly in hostile takeovers.


7. Working Girl (1988)


Integrity, honesty and authenticity can go a long way – in fact it can be your saving grace. And that’s what this movie showcases so well. Doesn’t matter what role you play in your organization (in this case it’s about a secretary), we all can learn much about staying true to ourselves from this movie.


8. Invictus (2009)


There are few movies that truly capture and shine with the essence of what inspirational leadership is all about, and what it can achieve. This one’s the perfect example of bold, inspirational and transformational leadership.


9. Norma Rae (1979)


The best part about leadership is that it doesn’t always just come from the person sitting on top. Norma Rae led efforts to take the fight to the top and improve working conditions at the textile factory she worked in. The true story captures a determined woman’s struggle to balance her domestic life while leading efforts to establish an empowered union.


10. Moneyball (2011)


What I love about this true story is how Brad Pitt’s character defies the norm and just does it his way. Building a baseball team through statistical analysis and probabilities (thanks to the young economist he hires) and turning the downtrodden franchise into a winner was sheer genius! A perfect example of why archaic processes should give way to good business practices.


11. The Aviator (2004)


If you’re going to compete with a major player in the industry you’ll have to be innovative, creative, a big risk taker and somewhat eccentric. This inspirational movie showcases Howard Hughes’ legendary leadership skills and relentless pursuit.


12. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)


In a few words, this movie’s about perseverance, persistence, dedication, and simply just never giving up. Besides being a genuine tear-jerker because of the struggles Will Smith’s Chris Gardner experiences, the movie truly highlights the importance and value of landing a job and how such moments of pride can often be forgotten, yet they’re so valuable.


13. The Insider (1999)


Whistleblowing can be tough, and that’s what one science researcher learned when he plans to take on the big tobacco companies. In this true story of bravery and courage you’ll learn how ‘doing the right thing’ can be nerve-wracking, especially when you’re up against corporate giants.


14. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)


If sales is your area of interest (or profession) then this one’s for you. It’s sharp, witty and often ruthless, but that’s how most sales jobs can be (though they don’t have to be). If you’re looking to raise your sales figures this movie will tell you how not to motivate your sales force.


15. Thank You For Smoking (2005)


It can sometimes be hard to do the job that you do if it clashes with your personal beliefs and values. But not for Nick Taylor. According to him “everybody’s got to pay the mortgage.” And that’s just what the public face of the tobacco industry tells himself to sleep better at night.


16. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)


Seeking inspiration from unethical practices and leaders is probably the fastest way to land yourself in trouble. However, the story of Jordan Belfort is more than that. A charismatic leader can move mountains and lead teams through any challenge. We just have to be cautious about which leader we choose to work with.


17. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)


For all the times you’ve worked for a tough/horrible boss, this movie will feel nostalgic. Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly teaches us all how a leader shouldn’t behave, especially with young, impressionable team members.


18. Office Space (1999)


The cult classic takes on a comedic view of the workplace, yet between laughs, it touches upon real-life frustrations faced by employees. From being alienated, sidelined, underappreciated, know-it-all horrible bosses, lay-offs, to employee grievances – this movie covers all the bases!


Know of any movies that provided leadership and management lessons? Do add to this list so we all can watch them.



Source: B2C
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