Outside light

Spotlight is a stunning film. A truly stunning film that deserves to get both box office and critical success. The acting is tight, the editing is seamless, the narrative is gripping and the overall pace, just sublime. The musical score adds to the overall tension and the cinematography is very clever.

This is a film that you really must see, in my view. The films shows again, to me, that some of the best stories are based on real stories. Indeed, in part, that is what gives them and this film, the edge... I could deplete my supply of superlatives for this film: amazing, brilliant, powerfully disturbing, uplifting, restorative (in believing in the potency of good journalism...) Go. See. This. Film.

For me the film raises a fundamental question of leadership: can a leader be in the system while also leading it? The answer is yes and no. A leader needs to stand apart and sees the system from the outside to help resolve how the system can grow and improve. But a leader also needs to know how the system 'breathes' and so cannot be too distant or remote.

Reconciling this polarity is one of the critical tasks of all leaders: how to be 'in' but not 'of' the system. It is a task with which leaders can start out well but can become less able as time goes on. The art is in monitoring oneself.

How are you self monitoring your balance between having one foot in and one foot out of the system you are leading?

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Blog 148: in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Wave goodbye

SPOILER ALERT (for a duff movie, I would add)

The Fifth Wave is another film that I am surprised was made: it is yet another unoriginal, cliché ridden teen movie with lots of shooting and running around but with a narrative so thin as to make a lettuce leaf look fat. Seriously, how do these films get made? Is there a building in LA full of producers with more money than sense who think they can just cash in on the Hunger Games and the Twilight Saga?

Teenagers (and the rest of us) deserve better than this! Why aren't they making the rest of the Northern Lights trilogy into a thumping good movie (with a different director from the first one: Golden Compass)? There's a good complex narrative that deserves some big screen CGI and which does not insult the intelligence of its audience! You can probably tell that I am not going to recommend you seeing The Fifth Wave, even when it is broadcast free on terrestrial TV...

(SPOILER ALERT) A Marxist analysis of the film would probably suggest that it is hark back to the films of the 1950s which were held to be reflections of cold war paranoia. In this movie, "The Others" could well be an allegory for Islamist Terrorists who 'look like us but are not like us', and seek to create child soldiers etc... That as maybe, the film is certainly about deception...

Should leaders ever deceive those that they wish to lead? Is it part of good leadership to dress up the truth a little and maybe put a good spin on things... I am sure that most people would stop short of actual lying but should leaders tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"? Can certain details be omitted for the sake of the bigger prize? Or do we do all of this naturally anyway?

What is the truth?

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Blog 147: in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Grubby Grandpa

Sometimes I wonder how some films get to be made. Dirty Grandpa is one of them. I can find lewd and crude humour as funny as the next person... but this film just wasn't that funny. There are a few wry and ribald moments but mostly it is stuffed full of tired clichés.

I had hoped that with the actors involved, there would be some insightful and moving redemption towards the end that would somehow counter balance the crude and 'groping for plausibility' storyline up until then. But nope. There was nothing to redeem this film. Mr De Niro and Mr Ephron must be laughing all the way to the bank. I rarely bother to read other people's crits of films I choose to see. This film has made me review that policy...

This film is in the classic genre of "should I or should I not marry this person?" films, where either the bride or groom to be goes on a 'journey' of discovery to come to one answer or another. Why it always has to take a journey to resolve such dilemmas is something I don't quite get, especially in this case. But I do think walking around with a dilemma helps.

Leaders do well to walk around lots. Not just because it gets them out and about, meeting people, hearing snippets of information that would probably not come their way by any other means... but because the act of walking, the rhythm, is good for the brain, I think. Dilemmas can be resolved in this way.

When was the last time you went for a walk at work?

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This is Blog 146 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Brand confusion

I am sure that Our Brand is Crisis looked amazing on paper especially when the cast was added: how could it go wrong? Here was a story about the dark arts of political campaigning in the volatile arena of South America... it was bound to be compelling watching that would have audiences glued to their seats.

But in fact the story is a mess: confusing and distracting. You end up wondering just who are the real heroes and villains of the story. Perhaps it is no surprise when the subject matter can be so shaded and morally complex: what ends justify what means exactly? But it achieves one thing, I guess: if you were cynical about political campaigning before you saw this film, you will be afterwards.

A few days ago, I had lunch with my first client. We have stayed in touch for 27 years and get together once in a while for a catch up. When I was working on my first consultancy assignment with him, something went wrong (although I cannot remember what). But I do remember him saying that he considered that what had happened was an act of omission not commission. He forgave what had happened and we moved on. He saw no design or intent in what had occurred...

Leaders get things wrong and sometimes do wrong things. Knowing why these happen is critical: intent, capability and capacity all come to mind. Leaders can choose to play highly political games, but you have to know what you are doing and who else is playing similar games. As always it is a matter of degree and knowing how far to take such 'games'...

Are you a good political game player?

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This is Blog 145 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

The Big Lie

The Big Short is a brilliant film that manages to convey the immoral madness of the financial system in a funky, funny and almost poetic way. Of course, many people in the UK still believe the recession that began in 2007/08 was the fault of the government in power. This film will show you otherwise. And what makes the film so clever is that even though you will probably still not get what CDOs and CDSs are, you will know what they meant.

But because the narrative is so compelling, because it's true (the scene with the realtors in Florida stands out for me), some of the acting could be overlooked. But don't... there are some extraordinary performances in this film. Go. See. Now.

Tempting though it is to write about leadership integrity and morality after watching this movie, I will instead write about gambling and leadership instead. (The film, indeed the whole financial system, is really just about gambling, I would contend.)

Do good leaders gamble? Of course they do: leadership is all about balancing risks, investments and pay-offs. It is all about judging just how far a course of action can be pushed to achieve the desired for result. But it is not random chance, of course. Famously, Gary Player said “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” Leadership is not about rolling a dice. But it is sometimes about gambling with an opportunity.

Do you feel lucky...? 

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This is Blog 144 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Straight talking on being commissioned

This afternoon, I attended a Commissioning Academy organised by the Local Government Association to develop the skills of local councillors involved in buying services for their councils. My role was to be on a panel to give them some insight into what it feels like being commissioned (or procured). I thought I would share my opening pitch:

• The more complicated and convoluted you make your procurement process, the more likely that you will end up hiring suppliers who are brilliant at completing forms and answering tricky questions. They may or may not be good at supplying what you want.
• Remember that although your procurement process ends with selecting the 'best' supplier, this is only from the pool of those who could be bothered or had the time to enter the process in the first place. 
• If commissioners put as much effort into listening to and engaging with the market place as goes into creating 156 page procurement specifications, the world of outsourced supply would be very, very different.
• One of the biggest problems is that very few poachers become gamekeepers. Commissioners are often so darned commercially naive that taxpayers are losing out hook, line and sinker.
• From my perspective, I am very unlikely to bother bidding for a piece of work if any of these conditions are present:
• the time needed to bid is disproportionate to the work on offer
• the specification of what is wanted is buried on page 86
• the questions asked are so stupid that I cannot muster the energy to answer them
• the questions are so impenetrable as to defy all the dictionaries and thesauruses in the world
• the specification states that an essential ingredient of the service being procured - won't actually be paid for, but if you want to do it for free...
• the existing supplier has a head start (for a whole number of reasons)
• it's for a service where there will be dozens if not hundreds of bidders = too much of a lottery
• the deadline date is yesterday (or some other equally ridiculous time scale)- the requirement is over specified and does not match the stated outcome desired
• the supplier requirements are over specified (imo)- there is no scope for me to display my unique talents in the bidding process
• Early market engagement means me having an opportunity to learn about the challenges facing commissioners and showcase my talents in helping to meet those challenges. Eg whole system working to prevent later problems & build robust ways of generating valuable social outcomes.

You will appreciate your central heating far more, after this film

The Revenant is a fine film, exceptionally well made and directed. The cinematography, sound and gory make-up are all stupendous. The acting is determined, brave and clearly is 'award-worthy'. This is a good film, but it is not a great one... Frankly I think the story stretches credulity to the point where you are thinking "really... really...?!?!" And that is not good for a movie, especially one purporting to be like real life then, rather than the fantasy it must be.

I have mixed views as to whether Leo should win the Best Actor Oscar for this movie: along with the rest of the cast & crew, making this movie must have hurt... lots. (That water looked mighty cold!). But there is not much subtlety in this film and the journeys made are physical not psychological. But maybe it is his turn... finally?

Morality features large in this narrative and emerges in good (and bad) forms in some surprising places, given the brutal and raw context. Some people do some very right things while others do some very wrong ones.. And of course this comes from all quarters, and with echoes of Fitcarraldo, Little Big Man and Soldier Blue, is about the individuals not just the culture in which they were raised.

And so it is with leadership: there is only so much a leader can do to create a culture that is honest and moral. Beyond that individuals make choices. The role of the leader therefore is not only to set the context but also the structures for supporting those who act with integrity and hold those who do not, to account.

How are your moral structures holding up?

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This is Blog 143 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Room without a view

Room is a grim and claustrophobic film that eventually leads you back into the sunlight. The acting is stunning, especially by the child star. His performance is so natural that he will take your breath away. At nine years old he already has an impressive filmography: watch this boy carefully.

This must have been a most difficult story to film: logistically and psychologically. But it is done with panache and close attention to the editing. Whilst a depressing subject, very loosely based on real life events of course, this film manages to make you believe in the unbeatable spirit of people: in this case a young mother and her child. They are the true subjects of this film, not the crime that imprisoned them. A difficult but must see movie.

Almost all management texts emphasise the importance of making plans. And in this film, plans are made. What is striking in real life, as in this film, even 3/4 baked plans are better than no plan. Sometimes the effort that goes into creating plans is disproportionate to the plan and aim in question.

Often, as a leader, the most important thing to be done is simply to point in the right direction. That in itself can be all the plan that is needed. But knowing where to point is the trick...

How is your inner leadership compass doing?

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This is Blog 142 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Multiplying Dads

Daddy's Home is a jolly romp of a silly movie but with some deeper undertones about what it really means to be a father and (speaking personally) the tricky challenges of being a step dad. There are some superlative comedic moments including the brilliant fall by the cheerleader (who deserves an Oscar just for that 2 second scene) and the terrifically congnizant product placement 'ad' towards the end of the film: inspired

It is easy to be picky about movies like this (would the mother react in quite the way she did?) and whether such a story could ever happen in real life etc but that doesn't matter one jot. This is a silly film and go with that in mind and you will probably laugh out loud like me.

There is a delightful part of the narrative around conflict resolution with an interesting and novel approach being taken during the movie: which will make you smile. Leaders need to be brilliant at conflict resolution because where ever there are people, there will be conflict.

What is your approach to resolving conflict? Are you fixed on one approach or do you have a range of approaches depending on the issue being confronted? How do you assess which approach to use?

How flexible and appropriate is your approach to conflict resolution?

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This is Blog 141 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Joyous

Every now and then, I see a film that stands out from the crowd. Joy is one of those films. You must see this one! The dialogue is delicious, the narrative is quirky and alluring, and the acting is just so slick and effortless. Jennifer Lawrence is in her element: a true dramatic force. Just superb!

This film will make you smile, laugh, cry and (if you are anything like me) punch the air with elation, several times. This is a most uplifting film that has created a magical mix of characters and events that will stay with you for long time. I repeat, go and see this movie, now!

This film is an object lesson in leadership and the value of total, iron clad determination to succeed. Joy, just, never, gives, up. She is beset with hurdles 10m high yet manages to overcome them... The question is how, and how do you develop such determination? Or is such determination something you are either born with or not?

I think we are all born with a strong determination to succeed: to survive (and more) often against the odds. And all our lives are filled with obstacles: some far more than others of course. Leaders are good at carrying on carrying on. Arguably that is what defines a leader. But I think the question is really not who has determination to succeed (we all do) but where and by how much we choose to deploy it...

Where are you deploying your desire to succeed?

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This is Blog 140 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

Truth stranger than fiction

The Danish Girl is an amazing film that will, if you let it, leave you thinking about the nature of gender, sexuality, love, loyalty and sanity. The acting is nothing short of stupendous. Arguably, Alicia Vikander has the tougher part to play and does it finely.

I found the film crept up on me, burrowing away against any preconceptions of what it means to be a woman, or indeed a man. And, as i have said before, the unsung heroes of modern day films are the costumers and make-up artists who excelled themselves with this movie. I hope they are, at the very least, honourably mentioned at the Oscars in a few weeks time. Go see this movie!

After watching the film, I researched the background a little more and found the true story to be even more incredible than the one depicted on screen: try looking for it yourself. Which, of course, is just a small example of the information at our fingertips these days.

And this is true of all leadership now: information, comment, insights, alternative views are as easily available to leaders as they are to those whom the leader is seeking to lead. Once upon a time, information was power but that is less so now. Leaders have to be more than that which can simply be searched.

How has your leadership had to change in an era of social media and easy research?

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This is Blog 139 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.

In the heart of the sea?

In the Heart of the Sea is stunning and compelling film with an engrossing narrative and stunning special effects. It is finely acted and directed but... it just didn't engage my heart. Somehow, it did not really bother me whether the characters survived or not... The only sentient being I had any connection with was the whale...

And I am really not sure precisely why except perhaps it was difficult for me to feel anything but loathing for people who spent their lives killing whales. Yes it was historic and evidently then (so we are told) an economic necessity but the idea of destroying these huge and intelligent beasts of the sea is not one I can warm to... But the film is good and if the whale hunting is less emotive for you, you will probably enjoy and engage with this movie in a way that I could not.

There is a moment in the film where one character is challenged to tell the truth as being the only true mark of his leadership and indeed honour. In the story there are also compelling reasons to twist the truth somewhat...

In a courtroom, witnesses swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Can a leader be a true leader with integrity and then not follow this same code? Are there ever any good and expedient reasons to tell less than the whole truth? I think there are, but they are finely judged: there are times when less than the whole truth needs to be told. Integrity comes from knowing what the limits are.

When did you last tell less than 100% of the truth?

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This is Blog 138 in my 2014/15/16 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 and 2015). Please subscribe to this blog if you want to read more. Thanks. Click the label 'film' to see all the others.