Unlimited movies: into my third year

Christmas 2013, my lovely wife gave me a year's unlimited movie going to Cineworld. Since renewing my card at the end of 2014, I have seen 137 movies.

After each film I write a two paragraph review of film followed by two paragraphs on the leadership theme hiding between the frames of the movie. And I have done this with every film I have seen at the cinema (but not the ones on TV: because that would be too silly/much!)

I have just renewed it for my third year so I have all of 2016 to look forward too: lots of great movies coming out soon. The Danish Girl will probably be the next one I see.

So to note this milestone, I thought I would list all the closing leadership questions from my #filmsinleadership blogs of 2015. You can find the original blog by clicking on each question.

Happy New Year!

1. Who are your nearby leaders that help you?
2. Who are you?
3. What 'what if' plans have you made?
4. Where do you draw the line?
5. When did you last raise a smile or an eyebrow among your followers?
6. How do you balance which is the more right action, of a set of possible options?
7. How do you approach the challenge of helping someone discover their 'superhero' inside?
8. As a leader, what was your last truly altruistic act?
9. What are you waiting for right now?
10. How can you help people let go of hoped for futures?
11. How do you continue to demonstrate to those who look to you for leadership, that they can trust you?
12. What conjuring tricks have you done as a leader?
13. What are the tricks that some people use to make it appear they function well as a leader when in fact they don't....?
14. What is your centre of gravity?
15. What have you done today to sustain the trust that people have in you?
16. How good are you at divining your own sources of passion?
17. When did you last defend the integrity of your organisation?
18. How do you know when to quit or when to persist?
19. How well do you balance the head and heart of your leadership?
20. How Chinese is your leadership?
21. How is your faculty for judgement these days?
22. As a leader, how much fear do you inspire... (even without necessarily wishing to)?
23. Honestly... how are you doing?
24. As a leader, how do you express your dreams?
25. As a leader, how are you choreographic and music production skills? Do you lead a choir or a cacophony?
26. How do you as a leader develop styles of leadership different to your own?
27. What is your serendipity quotient?
28. Where is your comedy muscle, have you exercised it recently?
29. Who have you chosen as a leader? Why?
30. How good is your wordcraft?
31. What have you managed to resolve in recent times? How?
32. How many Kevins do you have in your organisation?
33. How do you monitor yourself?
34. How do you know - really know?
    
35. How do you create born leaders?
36. As a leader, how do you use space and silence?
37. As a leader, how good are you at creating the situations in which others discover their own leadership?
38. What is your ethical framework?
39. How are you developing your EQ?
40. How will you know when it is right time to go?
41. What are you doing to ensure your reputation is robust & resilient?
42. How good are you at sharing?
43. When are you going away next?
44. How far do you push it?
45. When did you last quit? Why?
46. How is your pacesetting?
47. How good a talent spotter are you?
48. What is the next old idea to be refreshed?
49. Can you command that level of trust?
50. How have you helped people learn from each other?
51. What do you know to be right?
52. What were the ethics in your last decision?
53. Have you got a coach?
54. How well do you harness your emotions in pursuit of good decision making?
55. How good are you at managing your fear?
56. How are you making your leadership work in this contractual environment?
57. What was your last badge for?
58. What aspect of Malala can you emulate?
59. How do you go about spotting undiscovered talent and helping people unfurl this?
60. Are you hooked?
61. Do you count yourself as a strategist?
62. As a leader, what is your fuel, your purpose?
63. How good are you at framing, timing and asking questions?
64. How well do you manage not knowing many things?
65. What are you contributing?
66. When did you last ask yourself those sort of questions?
67. Are you a patient leader?
68. When can you let go?
69. What does it take to be a good talent spotter?

Homage to the Stars

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was all that I hoped for and more. There were multiple moments when I was bathed in blissful nostalgia, grinning from ear to ear like an idiot! It is nearly 30 years since I saw the original, but it is like it was yesterday. I was back to being a teenager again. Thank you, everyone who was involved in the making of this film!

I have heard on the grapevine, that one of my readership thinks I give too much away about the movies I review (although I think I am scrupulous in not writing any spoilers...) So suffice to say: all the old and new characters are just brilliant and I now want my own BB-8. Go, go, go and go see this movie!!

Talent spotting and people development feature quite a lot in this movie: recognising employees who either have or do not have the 'force' is a key skill for all leaders, especially spotting those who are at risk of going over to the dark side...

As we know, some of the best and most celebrated leaders are the ones who have a talent for spotting and developing talent. Good leaders not only assemble & develop good teams, but also are great at finding managers who can do so with their teams too.

What does it take to be a good talent spotter?

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This is Blog 137 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves

Sisters is a great movie: lewd, rude, sometimes poignant and very funny. Yes it is corny and some of the humour is a bit stretched but it will have you giggling. And be sure to watch the closing credits which include some funny out-takes.

The two leads ably demonstrate their comedic skill and are well supported by a good range of other actors. I especially liked the drug dealer and the parents: all have some very good lines. So a great laugh out loud movie. Will be hot sell on DVD too.

Part of the comedic narrative hinges on one of the sisters agreeing to be the 'Party Mom': ie staying sober and in control of the festivities, able to exert authority / leadership should the need arise. So do leaders always have to be in control of themselves (and others)? Or are there times when a leader can let their hair down and be off duty, as it were? Can a leader choose not to be the leader?

My answer is probably not. Leaders once recognised are always being judged. In this sense, the leader is always the 'Party Mom' whether they want to be or not. The art of good leadership, is still having a good time!

When can you let go?

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This is Blog 136 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Patience

I have been eagerly anticipating Carol for quite a while: the trailer was engrossing and the crits fully starred. But every now and then a film comes along that seems to attract glorious reviews but leaves me unmoved. Don't get me wrong: this is a good movie with some very fine acting. But it is not a great movie.

I would probably award Oscars for the costumes, makeup and sets: all brilliantly crafted to transport us back into the 1950s. The acting is subtle and textured. But the narrative is tedious, slow and unexciting. Maybe it is all symbolic and that is what lesbian relationships were like in the 1950s (although I doubt it!) And the narrative turning point in the movie was inexplicable. So perhaps I will have to see it again to try and understand what everyone has been raving about. Or maybe not...

Leadership takes patience (something I didn't have it with this movie - although the characters displayed endless amounts of it...) Patience is not just waiting for the sake of it: it is active waiting, waiting for the right moment. Patience requires acute awareness of all the factors that can influence when is the right time to act and when it is not.

Someone said to me the other day that animals (especially those likely to attacked) are never fully relaxed: they are always in a state of active awareness, ready to flee or fight at any given moment. It struck me that leaders are often like this, patiently waiting for the right time to make a decision, take an action. (Although leaders do need to relax sometimes.)

Are you a patient leader?

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This is Blog 135 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Change at Christmas

Christmas with the Coopers (as this film is known in the UK, in the USA it is Love the Coopers... why?) is surprisingly better than I was expecting. I should have been expecting good things by looking at the cast list of course, but the trailer gave an impression of jolly Xmas romp, stuffed with good gags and a few bon mots.

Instead, this film dished up a rich mix of insights into family dilemmas, and secrets and sibling rivalries etc that will make you reflect on your own family and its foibles. There is the enormously touching relationship between Bucky & Ruby and the sparring between Joe and Eleanor is delightful. A film worth seeing but maybe you can wait until it appears on ITV2 along with other traditional Christmas romances...

At various points the narrative hinges on people being able to change, often from long held positions. I was reminded of the Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. Often these words are used to guide people in changing something in their environment, but they can equally apply to ourselves: our habits, our opinions, our approaches etc.

Good leaders are always asking themselves these questions: what needs to change in me so that I can lead people better? What do I not need to change? Am I running away from things that need to change in me?

When did you last ask yourself those sort of questions?

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This is Blog 134 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Dance!

Every year, for several years now, at this time, I choose a single word as my theme for the coming year. I chose 'hope' for 2015. And this has guided me throughout this year, often when things seemed pretty hopeless...

This year, I have decided to choose 'Dance'. And, as usual, I have adopted this word from the 'Adopt-a-word' charity which supports children with communication difficulties. It only costs £15 per word. And with that you know that you are helping a child tackle any difficulties they have in communicating with others. (I recommend the charity to you.)

Now, you may ask: why dance? 

On Sunday 20 December, I listened to Broadcasting House on Radio 4 and heard the panellists reviewing the 'Strictly Come Dancing' final. Simon Jenkins said that what he liked about the programme is that it is entirely devoid of cynicism... This struck a chord with me...

And then I was reminded of an event I facilitated some years ago concerning gun crime: the aim was to open up conversations between the police, community groups, senior civil servant policy makers, young people and politicians to find new ways to prevent guns on the streets of the UK. It was a highly successful and memorable event. The second day used a process called Open Space, which allowed everyone present to add to the agenda of what needed to be discussed. Two young women (aged about 14, I recall) put forward a workshop entitled 'Dancing Against Gun Crime'. They duly ran it later in the day and it was attended by several people not least the two civil servants below whom I managed to capture on film:

I love this picture for all that it represents: a defiant and bold approach to tackle the deep cynicism of gun crime with two fairly 'straight' blokes in suits who decided to respond positively to the invitation.

So this is why I have chosen 'dance': as an antidote to all the rampant cynicism in the world. We need to defy all attempts to make this world a more cynical place by (at the very least) dancing!

All that remains is for me to send you & your families Season's Greetings, do please have a very Merry Christmas, and a fantastic and Happy New Year!

And dance!

Steel bridge

Bridge of Spies is a very well crafted movie, as you would expect from Spielberg. Although I think they could have emphasised the whole cold war fear & distrust culture a little more, it depicts the time well. Indeed the often unsung heroes of modern movies are the set arrangers and costume directors: as they set the mood of the film so well these days.

Mark Rylance is heading for an Oscar soon. This performance won't quite win him one, but I suspect he is well on the trail. His acting in this is palpable: you can can feel his emotions in your bones. Tom Hanks is predictably good although my all time favourite film of his is still Big. He was just so giddy and unselfconscious in that movie. Bridge of Spies is a movie to see, in my view.

As the trailer explains, Rylance's character regards Hanks' character as being like the 'standing man' from his past: someone who when knocked down, just stood up again. (As an aside, I think 'Standing Man' would have been a far better title for the movie than the corny pun we got...) So the leadership theme from this movie is one of resilience.

Leaders need to be resilient: indefatigable, persistent, courageous and stubborn. It is a tall order, especially when combined with everything else a leader has to do. How do the best leaders stay resilient? Apart from getting enough sleep and staying healthy, I think the most important ingredient is having a clear sense of purpose - knowing what is your mounting contribution to the world.

What are you contributing?

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This is Blog 133 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

The story behind 'Cracking Questions'

In one way or another, my life (both professional and personal) has been dedicated to helping others become and be powerful authors of their own lives. It has always seemed to me that too many people treat themselves, or allow themselves to be treated, as mere subjects in someone else's narrative. This psychological subjugation is bad for individuals, bad for communities and organisations, and indeed bad for our world.

We are demanding more and more of our finite world: as populations, needs and wants just get bigger and bigger. As a consequence, it is even more vital to provide what the world needs in the most economic, effective and efficient ways. So all organisations: business, public sector or third sector ones are, in my view, morally obliged to make all efforts to improve continuously. It also makes business sense too, of course.

Over the years, there have been many fashions in organisational development and improvement. From Time & Motion studies, to TQM, to BPR, to Knowledge Management, to Lean, to Transformation to blah blah, yada yada... And these fashions always come with a high price tag and shiny suited consultants who are the High (and highly rewarded) Priests of the new vogue.

So I figured, what was needed was this:

• A short, simple and readable book that focused on helping people come up with their own creative ideas that would improve the ways in which business is done: more economy, efficiency and effectiveness
• An approach which didn't rest on armies of external consultants to 'support' it (or indeed forests of flip chart paper to map processes to the nth degree)
• A money back guarantee on the purchase: so if the book had no value, then I would refund what you paid for it. 
• A growing hope that this book would help to develop more organisations that understand that everyone who works in them are partners, assets and co-creators of a common wealth from which more and more people can and should benefit

"Cracking Questions" is available from all the usual online book stores (with a Kindle ebook coming out very soon)

• Amazon UK
• Waterstones UK
• Amazon USA
• Barnes & Noble USA

Dark materials

Johnny Depp does not do many movies, but the ones he does, stand out. Black Mass is another to add to his impressive list of films that quickly become notable moments in the long history of cinema. It is not so much 'film noir' as 'film ténébreux', set in the Stygian hell of south Boston in 70s and 80s.

I could argue that the film would have been even more dramatic had it been filmed in black and white, but then one would have lost the brown suits, beige cars and orange décors of the time. This is a gruelling and gritty true-life film out of which almost no characters emerge with any integrity. But this is a must see movie.

What is there to learn about leadership from a bunch of gangsters and corrupt police? Given the number of films made with such ingredients, you would hope something! It is certainly isn't ethics or strategy (or perhaps it is?)

The untold story of this movie is how come two brothers ended up in such different places: one a senator and the other a gangland boss. The more cynical would say that there is little difference, but there really is. What happened to them in their early years that led them down such different paths? We will probably never know but could school leadership (for example) have made a difference?

How well do you manage not knowing many things?  

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This is Blog 132 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Appearances can be deceptive

The Dressmaker is not quite the film you were expecting from the trailer... Whilst we live in an age of where trailers give almost everything away, this is one of the exceptions. This is an uplifting, quirky film that will delight you and make you smile. It will also shock you and prick you with sadness.

As so many Australian films can do (Walkabout, The Shout, Priscilla.. or Strictly Ballroom, to name just a few of my favourites), the narrative comes at curving you like, er, a boomerang. The acting is plain and convincing, but at times done with such a flourish that it takes your breath away. Great direction, great sets, great cinematography and of course, great costumes. Go see this.

The core of the narrative pivots upon uncovering that which has been hidden and the consequences of doing so. And the consequences are as rich and varied as they are explosive and unpredictable. If this film does anything, it shows what can happen when you ask questions without knowing the answers...

But this indeed is what leaders must do. In order to achieve more, push the limits of what is possible, it is the job of leaders to ask good questions. Indeed, I could argue that the most profound thing any leader can do is to ask exactly the right question at the right time.

How good are you at framing, timing and asking questions?

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This is Blog 131 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Part four?

I have read the Hunger Games books and so I have been anticipating the final fourth episode The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 for quite a while! It does not disappoint but I do wish they had not split the last story in two. I know why they do this... obviously. But I think some of the integrity of the narrative is lost. And some of the 'heat' from part one is lost in part two...

Yes the sfx are brilliant, the acting superb (though I felt a pang of deep sadness every time I saw Philip Seymour Hoffman on screen) and, despite its slightly schmultzy ending, it ended the series well. Will there be a 'five'? I really hope not. This series of films will, I hope, have inspired people to challenge the insipid cult of 'reality TV' and watch very carefully where it could all end up...

Can you be a both a great leader and an evil one? President Snow is an example of such: calculating, popular, shrewd and charismatic. And there are of course, many examples of such in real life as well. So is the concept of leadership an amoral one: leaders can be good or bad and many shades in between?

I think it all depends on how you define the purpose of leadership. If that purpose is merely to set direction and drive relentlessly towards it, then people with bad morals can easily lead people to do bad things. However, if the purpose of leadership is to work with people on shaping a shared future, to liberate and create more leaders: so that more people are authors of their own lives... then this is not morally neutral. It is also the question of whether the fuel of leadership is fear or love.

As a leader, what is your fuel, your purpose?

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This is Blog 130 in my 2014/2015 series of blogs about leadership ideas to be found in the movies of our time. You can read here as why I began doing this (with an update at the end of 2014). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.