Looking back at some of the best movies of the past decade, an interesting realization comes to mind. Far from offering glamorous destinations and escapist plots, most of them took us to the office instead.
Everywhere we turned, we seemed to encounter management lessons as if we were attending some sort of cinematic MBA course. Here is some valuable workplace wisdom that emerged from recent Oscar-nominated films.
Obviously, The Help is loaded with a lot of insights worth considering. Improve your organization’s poor working conditions, or else a whistleblower might air your dirty laundry. Also, treat your staff with a modicum of courtesy; otherwise, a disgruntled former employee might give you something a lot worse than a fruitcake.
Adapt or die (The Artist), and find a way to embrace change in the face of an approaching technological transformation. Consider how the film industry dealt with the rise of the “talkies” and VCRs, and how it’s still trying to cope with the internet. A similar technology battle has been occurring in the HR realm. Many companies are struggling to implement social tools that lead to better hiring decisions, facilitate more innovation, and enable employees to collaborate more effectively.
Listen to the math whiz (Moneyball). Hire employees based on performance, and talk to them every once in a while to give them feedback and encouragement. Incorporate new ideas into long-held approaches, and come up with bold ways of changing the game when you have better-funded competitors. But when you innovate, you will face significant internal and external challenges. You’ll likely spark fear in the minds of those who don’t cope well with change, so try to have a team that can get behind your vision, however unfamiliar it might be. And know that once your strategy becomes public, others will replicate it and might just beat you to the finish line…or the World Series, as the case may be.
Every member of your executive team should ideally be in possession of a moral compass (Margin Call). Promote the people with the most knowledge, rather than exemplifying the Peter Principle. Create an incentive plan that makes sense and – is this too much to ask? – discourages executives from taking actions that will bring about the apocalypse.
When you hit a wall and can’t seem to complete a project, go for a walk. It will give you a nice change of perspective, and you never know who you’ll meet (Midnight in Paris). Find a great mentor who’s willing to give you some feedback when you need it.
But don’t be surprised if your mentor turns out to be less than heroic (The Ides of March). They can’t all be romantic writers, poets, and artists, after all. And watch your back when you jump into the fray of office politics. Loyalty is a valuable currency.
And finally, consider implementing a dog-friendly workplace.
Class dismissed.
Image credit: https://twitter.com/Uggie_TheArtist
A version of my post was originally published on the UpMo blog.
