Cops breaking the rules

Let's be cops if fantasy romp with about as much narrative integrity and close directorial editing as a blancmange, albeit a very funny (in the main) blancmange. Whereas the Keeper of Lost Causes is anything but funny but is probably a far truer reflection of grimy, frustrating, laborious policing. Both films are worth seeing, but not in the same sitting. I saw them both separated by a day. A week in between would have been better.

Many of the biggest laughs with the funny cops movie appeared in the trailer and, as it turned out, this buddy movie had its strong poignant and thriller moments. The unfunny cops movie, in Danish with subtitles, continued the now established genre of dark Scandinavian crime thriller with excellent acting from the three main characters. Although in the end, it felt like more of a TV drama than a feature film.

Oddly, although the two films are very different, what links them is a commitment to doing the right thing even when they have been told not to so. I won't expand on that, as I do not want to give too much away about either plot.

And this is also the case for exceptional leaders: they will do what they know to be right even when people around them are telling them to stop or do something different. Indeed what probably marks superlative leaders out is their courage to break the rules.

When did you last break a rule or defy an instruction?

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This is the forty sixth (and seventh) of my 2014 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I am doing this. Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

100% simplicity

After Under the Skin, I was a little nervous that Lucy would underwhelm me as much. Thankfully I can report that, safe in the hands of Luc Besson, it is film to enthrall, shock and shake you. You may think you have the gist of the story from the trailer, but you don't.

At times, this film felt like a lecture with a melange of what appears to be stock footage to emphasise certain points. But at other times it is a roller coaster ride through the streets of Paris and synapses of Scarlett Johansson. A strong narrative, determined and grimy performances from all the cast and seamless editing all make for a movie you will not forget.

This is no SPOILER (unless you have not seen the trailer..): the premise of the film rests on the idea that we are only using 10% to 15% of our brain power and upping that percentage leads to exponential increases in our capacity to manipulate our environment. (What this does to your ethical standards, I will leave you to judge!)

Many leaders spend a good deal of time on increasing their capacity to absorb information, practice techniques and approaches acquired in business schools and generally seek to be better, sharper and more skilled than those around them. However the best leaders also seem to be able to inspire fresh efforts with simplicity and common sense.

So when you are 'sharpening your saw', how are you also keeping things simple as they can be (but no simpler...)? 

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This is the forty fifth of my 2014 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I am doing this. Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

What if there is no question mark (...?)

I spent the first few moments of What If wondering why there was no question mark at the end of the title. Was this just another (Canadian) way of saying whatever? Was the other half of the title missing, so why not miss out the question mark too? Anyway, then I got wrapped up in the movie and began wondering how it would all end. How would this movie take fresh look at an old topic: can a (straight) man and woman just be friends or... Harry met Sally yada yada (?)

Well the good news is that this film will keep you guessing up until its closing minutes. I dare you to predict how it all ends. This is a fine script, delivered authentically by the main characters. It is well cast, photographed and scored. It has cute and awkward moments in good measure. The film will leave you wistful, philosophic, hopeful and twinkling about fidelity and love. Go see it. Another film to make you smile.

The plot of the film centres on truth and honesty: are we being honest with a person if we don't tell them the whole truth? There are always plenty of rational reasons why a leader may not always tell the whole story and feel obliged to keep something back. And this conflicts with a broader principle of being a truthful & straightforward leader. Or is this what makes a leader a leader: the ability to balance honesty with discretion?

Someone once said (was it Groucho?) that if you can fake authenticity then you have got it made. And we have all observed leaders who appear to be able to do this and yet we still want to follow them: as if we are prepared to collude in the deception that we are not being told all that we need to be told... Perhaps this is because we know (or think we know) that being 100% open, honest, truthful is just not tenable in many situations. And then do we go a step further and stop being wholly honest with ourselves? When does less than 100% honesty turn from being discrete, politic & careful into mendacious, manipulative and corrosive?

What if we don't know when we are crossing that boundary?

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This is the forty fourth of my 2014 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I am doing this. Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Australia is just a small island

I gave up resistance yesterday and went to see The Inbetweeners 2. I can report that it is funny: very funny. Although if you are not into scatological humour, you might find some of the scenes a bit close to the edge of 'OMG!'for you. I have been following this teenage (?) foursome since the TV series began in 2008 and enjoyed the first movie as well. It is possible that you can only truly appreciate this oeuvre of humour if you were a teenage boy once, but the cinema was full of both men and women yesterday afternoon.

As you will probably know by now, the plot centres on a trip to Australia by the four likely lads (ranging in real ages from 27 to 31) in search of >insert appropriate inappropriate slang word<. It isn't all ribald, raunchy & rough comedy (well not quite): it does contain some well aimed satire on the whole 'travelling the world' culture. You will leave with a smile on your face and (if you are like me) a few memorable lines (watch out for the guitar quote by the fire) to cite.

The yurt scene highlighted for me the challenge of inquiring, listening and truly accepting all that might be said when a leader asks for views on a particular topic. The humour in the scene centres on whether some statements are deemed acceptable whilst others are not, even though the leader has said that all contributions are OK...

Leaders cannot operate in isolation. They must inquire, listen and absorb the views contributed by those around them. They may disagree with what is said or written. But if there is any schism between inviting complete honesty and not being prepared to hear the honest opinions of others, this will close down the dialogue. People will just contribute what they think the leaders wants to hear.

How are your schisms?

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This is the forty third of my 2014 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I am doing this. Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Galactic diversity

Despite having seen the trailer a number of times and not being a comic book reader, I didn't really know what to expect from Guardians of the Galaxy. So it was with unalloyed joy, that I sat back in my seat, and reveled in this romp through the universe. This is a 'fat' movie that has several subcutaneous layers full of humour, pathos, tenderness, irony and seamless sfx. And the story is damn fine too and sets up well for a sequel, which I believe is on the way.

It is difficult to talk about the acting especially when several of the characters are submerged in CGI makeup and one says the same the line over and over again (well, nearly, and with different intonation). But the acting is convincing: indeed the first ten minutes plummeted me into an emotional relationship with the main character at a speed that is rare. If scifi is even a small part of your soul, go see this movie!

There have been a few times in my career when I have been part of a dream team: where everyone just seemed to bend and wrap themselves around the other team members creating a fusion of collaborative high performance. I and they just seemed to know how the others would think and act, and could adjust our actions to complement everyone else's.

I have long wondered whether this was just good luck or whether the quality of the leadership made the difference? The team that saves the galaxy in this movie are thrown together by chance. But it is the leadership which manages to change the group into a team. On display in the film is a combination of straight talking, the setting of inspirational goals, determination, compassion and humour. That recipe works in the movie, but I think different recipes are needed with different teams. The art of leadership is determining just what is needed.

When did you last turn a group into a team? How did you accomplish this? What did you learn?

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This is the forty second of my 2014 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I am doing this. Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.