A great fun and inspirational slideshow depicting how movie lessons are so aptly linked to business lessons!

1. Business Lessons from Movies
Sharing this for the greater good!
By: Zeeshan Muhammad Khan
Sourced from an article on www.arabianbusiness.com Twitter: zeesh2

2. The quote “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”
The film The Dark Knight (2008) The inspiration The Joker
(Heath Ledger) neatly sums up the freelance business
mentality. Whatever your greatest business strength is – be
sure you are rewarded for it.
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3. The quote “A million dollars isn't cool, you know what's cool?
A billion dollars” The film The Social Network (2010) The
inspiration Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) explains to
Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) the
importance of thinking big. It was this ambition and vision
that enabled the start-up Internet firm to grow into a multi-
billion dollar empire.
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4. The quote “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse” The film
The Godfather (1972) The inspiration In just one line Don Vito
Corleone (Marlon Brando) inspired generations of negotiators.
Whether you’re offering a job, discussing pricing, buying property or
looking settle a contract remember the person on the other side of
the table ALWAYS has a price. Just don’t go to the same extent as this
Mafia boss.
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5. The quote "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed
works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the
evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for
love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind." The film Wall
Street (1987) The inspiration Philanthropy is all well and good but the
fundamental factor driving many a business is the pursuit of wealth. Nobody
sums that up better that Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas).
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6. The quote "Everywhere I've been today there's always been something wrong.
Too young, too old, too short, too tall. Whatever the exception is, I can fix it. I
can be older, I can be taller, I can be anything." The film The Secret of My
Success (1987) The inspiration Climbing the corporate ladder is not easy.
Getting a foot in the door is even harder. Brantley Foster (Michael J. Fox)
encapsulated the struggles faced by recent graduates with this succinct offer.
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7. The quote “Training is useful, but there is no substitute for
experience.” The film From Russia With Love (1963) The
inspiration Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) may have been a Russian
spy on a mission to destroy James Bond but if things turned
out differently she would have had an excellent career in
recruitment.
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8. "Two little mice fell into a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave
up and drowned, but the second mouse, he struggled so hard that he
eventually churned that cream into butter and he walked out.” The film
Catch Me If You Can (2002) The inspiration The old adage “if at first you
don’t succeed, try and try again” has inspired many an entrepreneur.
Anybody who has triumphed over adversity on the rocky road to
success will, therefore, appreciate Frank Abangale’s (Leonardo Di
Caprios) tale of determination.
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9. The quote “Constantly talking isn't necessarily
communicating.” The film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless
Mind (2004) The inspiration Faced with incessant dialogue
Joel Barish (Jim Carey) questions the value in what he is
hearing. It is a lesson that should be considered before every
meeting, email or tweet.
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10. The quote "Only one thing counts in this world: Get them to sign
on the line which is dotted." The film Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
The inspiration This film, which also gave us the motivational line
“Always Be Closing,” should be required viewing for sales people
in all industries. Business is not always about strategizing,
networking and management – at some stage you have to close a
deal. Don’t forget Blake's (Alec Baldwin) advice.
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11. The quote "You got a dream you gotta protect it. People can't do
something themselves, they wanna tell you can't do it." The film
Pursuit of Happyness (2006) The inspiration Anybody who has
ever used the words determined or motivated on their resume
needs to watch this film. Chris Gardner’s (Will Smith) power of
will moves him from the street to stockbroker’s office in record
time.
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12. The quote “You don’t keep throwing your net where there aren’t
any fish.” The film Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) The
inspiration Location, location, location is a key factor in business.
Retail and hospitality entrepreneurs in particular take note
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13. The quote “My number one rule is, ‘Hope for the best, plan for
the worst.” The film The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) The
inspiration There is a reason why Noah Vosen (David Strathairn)
has risen to the position of deputy director of an intelligence
agency. Follow the advice when working on projects big or
small.
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14. The quote "Think big, think positive, never show any sign of
weakness. Always go for the throat. Buy low, sell high. Fear?
That's the other guy's problem." The film Trading Places (1983)
The inspiration Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) has contempt
for competition. The fearless approach to business – if
combined with a little forethought – can give you the
competitive edge you crave.
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15. The quote "It's hard to soar with the eagles when you're
surrounded by turkeys." The film Mr. Deeds (2002) The
inspiration There may be no “I” in team but sometimes you have
to be honest about the capabilities of those around you.
Surround yourself with excellence and you’re all the more likely
to see excellence yourself. Maybe Longfellow Deeds (Adam
Sandler) is wiser than he first appears.
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16. The quote "A sale is made on every call you make. Either you sell
the client some stock or he sells you a reason he can't. Either way a
sale is made, the only question is who is gonna close?" The film
Boiler Room (2002) The inspiration There is an “us and them”
mentality to business that can put businesses and their customers
on opposite sides. This can seem all the more true in a sales
position as brokerage hot shot Jim Young (Ben Affleck) outlines his
commercial philosophy.
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17. The quote "Look, I ain't in this for your revolution, and I'm not in it
for you, princess. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money."
The film Star Wars Episode IV (1977) The inspiration We’re all a
little mercenary when it comes to negotiating personal contracts.
Han Solo (Harrison Ford) understands the importance of risk versus
reward considerations.
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18. The quote "Never do nothing you wouldn't want printed on the
front page of The New York Times." The film Born Yesterday
(1950) The inspiration Ethics and business are unusual
bedfellows. But follow Billie Dawn’s (Judy Holliday) advice and
you will be able to balance profit with properness.
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19. The quote "Don’t underestimate the other guy’s greed." The film
Scarface (1983) The inspiration Frank Lopez (Robert loggia) and
Tony Montana (Al Pacino) work in a criminally niche industry. But
the human psychology that drives their business decisions is no
different to what all business people witness on a daily basis.
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20. The quote “If you build it, he will come.” The film Field of Dreams
(1989) The inspiration Construction industry workers and Ray
Kinsella (Kevin Costner) have one thing in common. Their vision IS
their business. Whether you’re singing bricks and mortar deals or
high concept commerce it all starts with an idea and hard work.
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21. The quote "I started out mopping the floor just like you guys. But
now...now I'm washing lettuce. Soon I'll be on fries; then the grill.
And pretty soon, I'll make assistant manager, and that's when the
big bucks start rolling in." The film Coming to America (1988) The
inspiration Work hard and you will progress. This motivational line
fed to generations of entry-level workers is neatly summed up by
restaurant worker Maurice (Louie Anderson).
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22. The quote "A 25 per cent slice of something big is better than 100
per cent slice of nothing." The film The Hustler (1961) The
inspiration The words spoken by street hustler Fast Eddie (Paul
Newman) should be a mantra for venture capitalists and
investors the world over.
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23. The quote "My only real motivation is not to be hassled - that,
and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only
make someone work just hard enough not to get fired." The film
Office Space (1999) The inspiration You don’t need to be Jack
Welch to realise that your entire workforce does not operate at
uniform performance levels. Even in times of economic hardship
the views of Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) will be shared by large
parts of any workforce.
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24. The quote “Buy, buy, buy! Oh, everyone's buying? Then sell, sell,
sell!" The film Caddyshack (1980) The inspiration As far as we are
aware this golf comedy is not part of the curriculum at Harvard
Business School. Which is a shame, because if Al Czervik’s
(Rodney Dangerfield) simple advice were followed more often
then the world could probably have avoided at least one financial
crisis.
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25. The quote "Just keep swimming." The film Finding Nemo (2003)
The inspiration Regal blue tang Dory (Ellen Degeneres) wasn’t
making an analogy when she advised her friend Marlin to just
keep swimming. It was meant literally. But it is a quote that has
been adopted by struggling office workers the world over to sum
up the persistence and determination to get through a day in a
normal office.
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26. The quote "If they can't start a meeting without you, well, that's a meeting
worth going to, isn't it? And that's the only kind of meeting you should ever
concern yourselves with.” The film Swimming With Sharks (1994) The
inspiration How important are you to the meetings you have on a daily basis?
If you’re there just to make up the numbers then maybe you should take
stock of your career so far. Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey) was talking about
the movie business but the sentiment stretches to absolutely any other
industry you care to name.
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27. The quote “Ninety percent of what you're saying isn't coming
out of your mouth.” The film Hitch (2005) The inspiration Choose
your words carefully and be just as selective with your body
language. Save yourself hours of NLP training and take on board
personal relationship expert Alex Hitchins’ (Will Smith) advice.
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28. The quote “Well, you're in management now. If everybody
loved you, you'd be doing something wrong.” The film The
Paper (1994) The inspiration It doesn’t matter who, what or
where you are managing – at some stage you are going to have
to make tough decisions and ones that are not universally
popular. That is why you are the manager. Heed Bernie White’s
(Robert Duvall) advice and remember work is not a popularity
contest.
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29. The quote “If you don’t start somewhere, you’re gonna get
nowhere.” The film Marley (2012) The inspiration A Bob Marley
documentary seems like a strange place to seek business wisdom
but this line could have come from the mouth of any self-made
millionaire. Ideas and talent can only drive an entrepreneur when
they have actually taken the decision to act.
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30. The quote "I think the question we should be asking is, do you
believe in this thing or not The film Moneyball (2011) The inspiration
Asking the right questions is important in business. Think and act
differently and you can stand out in any market. But always have a
clear vision in mind. Once the vision is formed have belief in what
you do and stick to it. If you consider yourself to be a business
innovator like Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) never let your strategy and
vision stray far from your mind.
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31. The quote "Normally, it takes years to work your way up to the
twenty-seventh floor. But it only takes 30 seconds to be out on
the street again. You dig?" The film The Apartment (1960) The
inspiration The corporate ladder has many a slippery rung. JD
Sheldrake’s (Fred MacMurray) cautionary tale is worth
remembering for any worker looking to build a long-term career.
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32. The quote “The only thing to invest in is the future.” The film Mr
Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (2007) The inspiration A wonder
emporium may genuinely be considered a recession-proof
business but the young Eric Applebaum (Zach Mills) has a solid
strategy that can build the foundations of the future of any
business.
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33. The quote "There's nothing cheap about loyalty." The film Up in
the Air (2009) The inspiration Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is
referring to frequent flyer programmes when he offers his views on
corporate loyalty. But the lesson of reliability, dependability and
consistency can be learnt in all aspects of business.
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34. The quote “It’s no trick to make a lot of money, if what you want to do is
make a lot of money.” The film Citizen Kane (1941) The inspiration Widely
regarded as one of the all time great Hollywood films, Citizen Kane is also
a morality tale worth remembering. Charles Foster Kane’s (Orson Welles)
relentless pursuit of wealth and power comes at the expense of personal
pride and happiness. This last word on Kane’s immense fortune falls to his
business manager Mr. Bernstein.
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