Learning with Videos
- Amistad - The power of storytelling and influence against impossible odds (recommended by Annette Simmons).
- Apollo 13 - Examples of leadership, teamwork, innovation, mission, passion, courage...
- Breakfast Club - Abandoning prejudices. The movie deals with such fundamentals as the human tendency toward bias and hurting the weak.
- The Bridge On the River Kwai - Leadership and corporate mission (Doing Things Right verses Doing the Right Things).
- Crimson Tide - A lesson in life that there are times when there is no easy way to tell right from wrong (things are not always black and white, but can be rather gray
- Fantasia - Background themes for creative thinking. Also Big, with Tom Hanks, shows creativity in action.
- Gandhi - a great story on Servant leadership (steward)
- Gettysburg - General Lee providing some feedback to one of his direct reports.
- Glengarry Glen Ross - coworkers competing against each other in a hostile environment.
- Gung Ho - The meshing of two cultures collide.
- The Joy Luck Club - Diversity.
- The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge) - Exploring ourselves through the perspective of a child. Also, imagination.
- Saving Private Ryan or The Big Red One - leading under trying conditions (opening scenes).
- Thelma and Louise - Cultural examination regarding the status of women (diversity).
- 12 Angry Men - developmental stages of groups, diversity in groups, leadership, groups vs. teams.
- The Wizard of Oz - Dorothy shows leadership as she takes a guy with no brains, one with no heart and one with no courage and melds them into an effective team that successfully accomplishes its mission. The team succeeds only after they stop blaming others for their problems, and start taking responsibility for their own destinies.
The following are not movies but rather some good videos:
- Abilene Paradox - A classic in teaching groupthink. Also read the book, The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management.
- Fish - A business film about the story of the famed Seattle Pike Place Market's Flying Fish and a passion for the work they do - attitude, morale, creativity. A book version is also available: When Fish Fly: Lessons For Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace From the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market
- Helvetica The story of typography, graphic design and global visual culture based on one typeface—Helvetica that celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007. Good for learning about design and creativity.
- Manufactured Landscapes A beautiful, insightful documentary on the works of artist Edward Burtynsky. Makes you think about the world and how it really works without being judgmental.
Books
- 101 Movie Clips that Teach and Train by Becky Pluth.
- Movies to Manage by: Lessons in Leadership from Great Films by John K. Clemens & Melora Wolff - A book on how to use movies in
training. Discusses the following movies:
- Following Your Hunch (The Hunt for Red October)
- The Importance of Improvisation (Apollo 13)
- The Failed Promise of Heroic Leadership (Dead Poets Society)
- Turning Around a Faltering Team (Hoosiers)
- Socratic Leadership (12 Angry Men)
- Turning Around a Troubled Organization (Twelve O'Clock High)
- When Leadership Fails (Citizen Kane)
- Morality and Leadership (Wall Street)