Who knew the silver screen could be a guide through life’s twists and turns? Movie nights can offer more than just entertainment—they can provide profound lessons on transformation.
Movies are filled with heroes, villains, and underdogs. But beneath these familiar roles lies a deeper narrative—the story of change. Prosci’s “Key Question” prompts us to look beyond the characters’ arcs and consider the intricate dynamics that drive successful change, focusing on individual agreement, alignment, and adoption.
Join us on a cinematic journey where each film reveals unique insights into the powerful process of change.
The Power of Storytelling: Movie Recommendations by Krish
Krish (Head Training & Consulting, Marg Business Transformation) curates a film series that explores change through the lens of Hollywood. These movies may not be directly about change management, but they offer valuable lessons for anyone navigating change initiatives: Let’s look:
- Inception: Deeply respects the process of making someone buy-into an idea. Sells the idea of framing and re-framing a story in a form that makes sense for each person.
- Inside-out: On “getting people”, this gives you amazing insights into how we form memories [with emotions] and construct our identities [islands in the movie] from those experiences/memories. Well worth your time.
- Intern: Aptly enough, strongly recommended by our Intern at Marg [who oddly enough also comes from a different age-group-> movie reference]: This is a story of a dramatic-change that occurs at the pace of a story.
The Sponsorship access and coaching that we talk about in the CM session? Could look like this. There is coaching, calling out alternatives and consequences, quite a few of Prosci’s resistance tactics applied. - Barbie: There are many change management messages here. For example, Jeff Hiatt’s statement, “Successful change, at its core, is rooted in something much simpler: how to facilitate change with one person.”
And as you watch the movie, you see many individuals each parse and accept the change-story differently. And then help propagate [or at least sustain] it. And the different Barbie’s are different. And they change at different paces.
While there is more that is similar amongst us than different, it makes the differences valuable/special, doesn’t it? - Avengers:Endgame [Marvel Phase3 last movie]: Look at the meticulous way each element of the movie pays homage to what’s happened or foreshadows what will happen. And it’s trying to bring a 22-movie
changestory to a conclusion.
I am sure that the script-writing team had a million things to choose from and they deliberately chose those items that brought [emotional and intellectual] coherence to the story they were now completing.
Much the same way, the Phase-1 “Prepare Approach” raises a zillion possible approaches [as well as issues] to handle, and the change manager chooses the issues to address [or the tale to tell]. - Moneyball: This is change happening across different layers of a sport. Owners, scouts, administration, teams, players, spectators, sports sponsors……Watch it propagate and consider what went on “behind the scenes” to make it happen.
Source: LinkedIn
Lights, Camera, Change!
This isn’t just your average movie night. The next time you hit play, embark on a journey of self-discovery alongside the characters on screen. Look for the underlying stories of change – how they grapple with new ideas, navigate resistance, and ultimately find agreement and alignment. These narratives hold valuable lessons that translate directly to our own lives.
Most importantly, enjoy the process! These movies are entertaining on their own merit, thought-provoking regardless of their change management themes. But by delving deeper, you’ll gain valuable insights into human behaviour and personal growth.
A final note: Observe how many of these titles begin with “I.” This subtle nod to the power of individual perspective serves as a reminder. Amidst the whirlwind of life, take a moment to reflect on your own thoughts and actions. This introspection can unlock profound insights and pave the way for personal transformation.
