At the Movies: Business, Doing it Wrong

I’ll interrupt my normal content about how how communications is what drives successful business, PR more than sales and marketing, with a long overdue blog post, to rant about how Hollywood does and doesn’t get business vis a vis the movies.

Burnt

Think the best OJT for business may be running a restaurant, a chef as CEO. Except when it’s Hollywood and you can bully your way into greatness without really trying. This one seemed so out of date, much like the chef at the center of the story.

About the only things it got right: 1) it takes a team, that the people doing the work are what makes – or breaks – a business and 2) competition can drive success, forcing others to up their game.

achievementdemotivator_largeSteve Jobs

I though the movie got the vision, the idea of people not knowing what they want until you make it for them. The familiar Sorkinisms zeroed in on target market, how they weren’t going after computer geeks who’d hack their own machines but rather everyone else willing to pay a premium for something that just works.

I saw how communications – interpersonal, professional, organizational – drive business. How failing to recognize contributions, how management values its employees do has consequences. Relationships matter.

My favorite part of Steve Jobs –  failure. Great marketing isn’t everything; buzz and a successful ad may drive stock prices and market value a bit, but if the product or service doesn’t make a profit, it’s still a bust. Moving on, planning ahead and failure being part of that plan, gives me hope as I’m not ‘there’ – yet.

The Intern

Infuriatingly simplistic representation of a startup that’s supposed to be a genius business model – sexist #FWP idea of buying clothes online whilst drinking wine with friends. It’s Hollywood take on what a startup would be, all renovated building open spaces, sans grey cubes, with an on staff masseuse and annoying victory bell.

Stuffed with predictable cliches and stereotypes, I can’t decide what was the most eye roll worthy – that such an innovative startup would require coders and programmers and designers to schlep to offices on-site rather than telework or that it’s fearful CEO had to micro-manage even the font and color designs of the website homepage on a daily basis.

What does this have to do with PR? Everything.

Media and critics. Investors and stockholders and board members. Service & Support and R&D. Customers and clients. Vendors, suppliers, distributors. Staff, team members, ‘talent’ or whatever employees called. These are all key players in every movie and in my world, they are AKA as stakeholders. The Publics of Relationships.

It’s work, a lot of work to accomplish something. Uniting people behind a goal of building a business or reviving a brand or managing a project, that takes effort and effective communications. See also The Martian which, while it limited “PR” to public affairs and media relations, at least that person was in the room and had some say when the big decisions were made.

Ever seen a movie or show that got your job, your business so very very wrong? Please share.

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