As the pace of work becomes more frenetic, and as the desire for maximizing profits assumes maniacal proportions, corporate conversations can often prioritize profits and aggressive decision-making, many times overshadowing values like compassion, kindness, wisdom and long-term strategy.
With my recently concluded International Corporate Directorship Program, and now being inducted as a fellow of Board Stewardship and reading some of their lovely material, I have begun to realize even more that movies offer us an interesting and unique way of giving us the space to step back and reflect on deeper human values, helping us to periodically and frequently check in on our alignment with purpose. By drawing us out of our everyday lives, movies create opportunities for reflection and insight.
This time, the review is of the movie THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
For those of us who have seen or read “The Wolf Of Wall Street”, we know that it is a detailed account of greed, decadence, and entrepreneurship. The true story of Jordan Belfort and Stratton Oakmont is as remarkable as some of the lessons for each of us.
Those of us who are budding entrepreneurs, or creating new start-ups, or heading businesses, it will help to take time to study this story. There are plenty of lessons to learn on how to help one’s business – and quite a few on what not to do with one’s business, ethics and integrity also.
Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio, Margot Robbie and Jonah Hill
Based on the life and times of Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street depicts his rise from a junior Wall Street stockbroker to his eventual imprisonment.
In the 1990s, Belfort founded brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont and made a huge fortune defrauding wealthy investors out of millions, all while enjoying a hedonistic lifestyle. However, the SEC and the FBI eventually caught onto Belfort’s trading schemes and worked to bring down his empire.
Belfort ended up serving several months in prison after pleading guilty in 1999 to securities fraud and money laundering as part of a scheme that cost investors approximately usd 200m.
Behind Belfort’s wild success and incredible wealth is a burning passion for sales. Whether it was selling penny stocks over the phone or handling enormous accounts, the driving force for Belfort’s success is his passion for closing sales. To Belfort and his team, selling was more than a job. It was a lifestyle that bordered on an obsession.
His belief that anyone could sell anything was a pillar of his company’s success. This is on full display during the “sell me this pen” scene, where Belfort demonstrates to his employees the benefit of creating urgency in a sales transaction. To Belfort, anyone with passion and will to succeed could become an accomplished sales rep.
Here are the key and hugely positive takeaways from the film
– Know What you Want, and Work Your Socks Off in its pursuit
Belfort wanted to get rich. He would do anything to get what he wanted.
If one has a dream and a vision, then one needs to do everything in one’s power to make it work.
-Be determined
Not everything was a success for Belfort from the word go. He got laid off from a well-paid job and had to scrape the barrel to find another job. However, he persevered and took on a job with a smaller salary and bleaker prospects. Yet he turned that job around and worked relentlessly to become successful.
-Provide amazing training to your employees.
Belfort was adept at training staff to sound as intelligent and capable as possible.
Take the time to develop and implement a simple, logical, and succinct training program for one’s employees. This investment will come back multiple times in both saved money and time.
Here are some key compliance lessons which will also go a long way with the above positives:
-Act with integrity and honesty in all professional dealings, and take extra care not to abuse any position, and manage any conflicts of interest.
-Watch out for the tell-tale signs of fraud.
-Don’t become an unwitting accomplice to unscrupulous third parties, employees, customers, suppliers or others in acts of fraud.
-Review anti-fraud systems and controls regularly to ensure that they operate effectively and identify any improvements needed.
-Report any knowledge or suspicions of fraud to the relevant authorities immediately.
-Don’t make recommendations or induce others to deal while in possession of inside information.
Perhaps the biggest lesson an entrepreneur can learn from The Wolf of Wall Street is that dreams are the sparks for business. And when one starts looking for ways to make one’s dreams come true, use sound, honest, and responsible ways to make that happen. Confidence and a positive, can-do attitude is a pre-requisite as long as it does not cross the line and turn into over-confidence, brashness and a compromise of values.
