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Best Business Movies

By Michael R. DeLorenzo posted 03-07-2011 06:31 PM

  
Below is a listing of movies that are based around the business world. The movies are not listed in any order, but I will say Wall Street is my favorite movie of across any list.  I have added my thoughts that can be used as takeaways from each film.  Many of the films bring us the common lessons.

Interact!!!  In the comments section below, let me know which movie is your favorite!  Or you can let me know if I left one out!!  If you think I left something out of the “What Can We Learn” section, let me know so I can add it.

The Game

What we can learn:

Pretentious or self-centered people are lonely people, family is all one has

Boiler Room

What we can learn:

Everything is NOT as it seems to be no matter how good it is, “act as if ____”, ethics

Wall Street

What we can learn:

Work hard/play hard, everybody has their price, ethics
oh and….. “greed is good” (I had to say it!)

Pirates of Silicon Valley

What we can learn:

Success is gained with persistence, create a solution instead of a product, there can be two paths to success – AKA there is more than one right way

Glengarry Glen Ross

What we can learn:

ABC Always Be Closing, what the life of a salesman is like

God Father 1 and 2

What we can learn:

Mob movies always make a great learning source of how to do business.  In the real world, one cannot get away with “making an offer he can’t refuse.”  Too bad though!

Office Space

What we can learn:

There are no short cuts in life, office life is not much fun, larger businesses have too many useless tasks, policies, and procedures in place, strive for something better no matter where you are in your career

Trading Places

What we can learn:

Every snob has his day, money makes people do what they know is wrong, the commodities market has just as much insider trading than the equities market

You’ve Got Mail

What we can learn:

Big business does ruin the smaller “shops around the corner” as well as the neighborhood, change can lead to better opportunities

Pretty Woman

What we can learn:

Another business snob turns mush movie, how to eat at a formal dinner setting, no matter how successful in life – everyone has a weakness, the art of negotiating, everyone works for the best in life

The Pursuit of Happiness

What we can learn:

Each decision one makes can make or break you in the future, motivation, one needs to work hard to get to where they want to be, happiness does not mean money, surround yourself with successful people

Scarface

What we can learn:

First comes money – then power – then women, build the team you lead carefully, take advantage of opportunities, don’t underestimate the other guy’s greed, the guys that last in business, are the guys who fly straight

breach

What we can learn:

Doing wrong will only catch up with you, trust no one, details… details…. details, it is always the one you least suspect, ethics

The Secret to my success

What we can learn:

Trying to get your foot in the door is your first battle in life, moving to new city is not always popular but the higher the risk – the greater the reward

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03-10-2011 02:53 PM

A few more:
+ The Hudsucker Proxy -- In a scheme to send stock plummeting, the board of directors install a naive mailroom clerk as president only to see their plan backfire.
+ Working Girl -- spunky big-haired Wall Street secretary knows more about business than her boss
+ Citizen Cane -- newspaper magnate reflects on a life focused on getting everything he ever wanted, and never being happy. Regularly tops many "best movie" lists.
And don't forget the musicals about business (with a side of romance):
+ How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (now on broadway with Daniel Radcliffe) -- Armed with a "How to..." manual, an ambitious window washer seeks to climb the corporate ladder.
+ The Pajama Game -- How to deal with labor troubles in a pajama factory where workers demand a 7.5 cents raise

03-08-2011 03:27 PM

Very eclectic list. My favorite is definitely Wall Street, but Office Space is great as well. I'll throw out two more. The Smartest Guys in the Room is a documentary about Enron and Barbarians at the Gate is an HBO movie from the early 90s about the takeover of RJR Nabisco.