Oscar Tutorial: Top 10 Lessons Part 2
Last week's Oscar Tutorial explored key life and business lessons from iconic films, and this week brings even more wisdom from recent nominees. *The King’s Speech* reminds us that perceived limitations can be overcome, teaching that difficult tasks are rarely impossible. *Moneyball* highlights the importance of rewriting the playbook when traditional methods fail, while *The Help* shows that it’s not just about what you do, but how you do it. *The Dark Knight* demonstrates that right choices are often hard, and *The Sound of Music* champions courage, principles, and a little bit of caution in both life and business.
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In last week’s Oscar Tutorial (Part 1), we covered the top 5 life and business lessons that you can learn from watching the past’s greats. Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony wasn’t at all short of inspiration. In fact, there are a few of the contenders on this list. Neither of them won Best Picture but they did take home a great deal of recognition as well as some very important, hard-hitting lessons:
6. The King’s Speech
Twelve Nominations. Four Wins.
He stammered. King George VI, known by his family as “Berty”, had one main duty to perform as King: to speak for his people. Problem was, he couldn’t. The one thing he had to accomplish he – at least believed – was impossible. Lionel Logue, however, showed Berty that his limitations were only perceived.
“We all face impossible tasks in our business – reaching a certain income, increasing our production, streamlining our processes, being that success we all dream about,” says Majcher. “But Berty showed us something monumental, that the impossible rarely is impossible. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No.”
- Moneyball
2012 Best Picture Nominee
The Oakland A’s didn’t stand a chance. Too poor. Too underrated. Too…other bad things. So General Manager Billy Beane, with the assistance of computer analyst Peter Brand, rewrote the playbook. If they stood no chance of winning playing by the accepted formula, then they had to rewrite the formula. It meant looking at the problem from a different angle and being creative with their resources. No more following the beaten path. They beat out a path for themselves. And the result…speaks for itself.
- The Help
2012 Best Picture Nominee
They cooked and cleaned and raised children. Thankless jobs. And yet maids Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson gave it everything they had. The children loved them, the homes were spotless, and the fried chicken was never burned.
“What you are doing matters less than how you do it,” says Majcher. “You may not yet be living your dream. But wherever you are, whatever you are doing, give it everything you’ve got. It’s not only the recipe for happiness, it’s the path to success.”
- The Dark Knight
Eight Nominations. Two Wins
Batman had a choice: save himself, save his city. When Bruce Wayne asked his long-trusted butler what to do, Alfred had something to say, “Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They’ll hate you for it, but that’s the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.” In business, you are confronted with many choices. Usually two, just like Batman. Right will rarely be easy. But it will always be right.
10. The Sound of Music
Ten Nominations. Five Wins.
The Sound of Music taught us to think about our favorite things, that doe is a female deer, to never sit in a chair without checking it for acorns first, and that standing on your principles will take unbounded courage. And maybe good hiking shoes.
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