There are loads of business lessons we can learn from all around us. From reading books, to watching TV, to networking with a wide range of people. So many of us love the world of cinema and there are many lessons we can learn from the movies we watch. Let’s take a look at some business lessons we can learn from romantic comedies!
The Films
You’v got to love the awesome combination of romance and comedy. A great love story we can probably all relate and lots of laughs along the way. I’ve selected a number of different movies which give a great range of business lessons we can learn. Let’s take a look at the films.
Love Actually
You can’t be running your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are many stories running throughout Love Actually, from Hugh Grant as Prime Minister to Bill Nighy’s musician character looking for the ultimate comeback. The story to learn from here though is Laura Linney’s character being constantly available to her mentally ill brother. Whilst we do anything for our family, we cannot be available to anything 24/7. It’s just not possible. Linney’s character Sarah even puts her own life on hold in order to be there for her loved one. Whilst it’s not quite the same as running a business we can learn that we need time out for ourselves and sometimes the phone needs switching off whilst we have five minutes to ourselves.
The Devil Wears Prada
I like The Devil Wears Prada, something which my wife laughs about. It’s a great film! I love the journey the main character of Andy (played by Anne Hathaway) goes though. The business lessons to take from this rom-com is to know when to quit. Andy goes through absolute hell, being treated like utter dirt by her boss. She decides to quit in her own way. Know that there will always be another job, another avenue to travel down, as she proves by bagging a job which is much more for her. If you feel like you need to get out of your role, get out of it.
About Time
Domhnall Gleeson’s character learns that the men in his family have the ability to travel through time. He falls for Mary (played by Rachel McAdams) and uses his ability to woe her, help friends and enjoy life. There is one huge downfall to the ability of time travel though, once a baby is born, if you go back in time before that point, it won’t be the same baby. So once his father dies and they have a new baby, he’s unable to go back and see his dad again. This is heartbreaking but part of life. The business lesson we learn from this film is that we can’t live in the past to move forward in life. Whilst in About Time he has to let his father go, just as the rest of his family has, we must learn to push forward on in our business, not be hung up on what we’ve done in the past.
(500) Days Of Summer
One of my favourite films of all time, largely down to the combination of the story and the soundtrack. It’s so easy to connect to. It jumps around showing the story play out between these lovable and relatable characters. The lessons to learn here is the expectations verses reality scene. The two main characters have split up but Tom goes to Summer’s house for a party. He see how he thinks it will play out and how it actually plays out. Take this lesson into your business and realise that the dream doesn’t always match the reality.
How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days
This is similar to the lesson learned from The Devil Wears Prada. The lead female character played by Kate Hudson writes for a magazine. Yet she isn’t fulfilled because she’s not writing what she sees as important things. It takes her the whole film to take the step out and chase another lead of doing what she wants to do with her life. Whilst there is a love story running throughout this, with hilarious antics and brilliant supporting characters, simply put, don’t stick with a career that makes you unhappy.
What Women Want
This film is two decades old but there is are still business lessons to learn from the Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt movie. Mel Gibson has an accident, after which he can hear the thoughts of all women around him. It takes him a while to figure it out and after using it to his own advantage, he realises that he has to change from being the obnoxious and terrible man/boss/father that he is. The lesson here is that you need to listen to people around you. Not their inner most thoughts but definitely their ideas. We can get so focused on doing things in a certain way, other people might have a better way for us to do it! We just have to listen.
Cinematic Conclusion
As you can see, there are loads of lessons to learn from romantic comedies. So the next time there’s one on the TV or you’re scrolling through your streaming service looking for something to watch, why not give one a go. You might learn some business lessons to implement into your work.
