Ghostbusters (Original):
Business Movie Review
Reviewing this movie will teach Small Business Owners
business strategies of
Purpose, Productivity & Job Descriptions
Ghostbusters (1984) was an iconic blockbuster movie I saw at the Drive-In when we lived in Hawaii. Imagine, our beloved Slimer larger than life on an enormous screen with the Hawaiian mountains behind it! Yes, the Drive-In – it was still a thing then. Isn’t that a blast from the past?!?
Both my husband and I were surprised when I noticed I hadn’t reviewed Ghostbusters (the original). Why? Well, I’m pretty sure it was played at least 1,000 times or more in our household. Did you figure out why yet? Our sons were just at that perfect age for children to find their first “toy theme”. I can still recite almost every line by heart, including the pauses and tone of each character.
While watching the movie, I see a variety of organizational development topics playing out. Each point onto itself is powerful to implement in a small business; however, I chose these three strategies as a focal point. Ponder these strategies over the next week and make some changes to support YOUR Business Performance.
As always, we won’t have any spoilers here! Enjoy watching the movie and learn how to improve YOUR Business Success.
Ghostbusters Business Strategy #1
Purpose
Did you notice how the fired professors were meandering regarding what to do next until they had a purpose? There’s even a scene with one of the drinking out of a booze bottle out in public. Once there was something that intrigued them, they knew what they were capable of accomplishing. Perhaps the better way to say that is: they developed their map as they began their journey. They took one step at a time with their destination unknown.
Do you have a destination? If you don’t, this is OK. What isn’t OK is you not knowing your purpose. Granted YOUR Business Purpose can shift over time. For some businesses it’s essential to have their Business Purpose evolve as they do, the marketplace needs to change, or technological advances occur.
FYI: YOUR Business Purpose isn’t sexy. It’s simply why you show up every day. YOUR Business exists to ____________. What are you trying to improve? This clarity alone provides great guidance regarding which activities you should engage in to build YOUR Business.
Ghostbusters Business Strategy #2
Job Descriptions
Throughout the movie, you see the Ghostbusters team figure out who does what, when, and how. There’s even a scene where they realize they need help and hire a fourth ghostbuster. That’s actually rather funny and sad all in one. Watch it and notice how closely it plays to how some small businesses hire their employees.
Do you have a job description for yourself, the Small Business Owner? Over 99% of Small Business Owners don’t have a job description for themselves. Additionally, not having a job description for each team member is a mistake.
Job descriptions are agreements of expectations. They don’t have to be fancy, actually less is better, but they do need to express what each member is responsible for completing. Remember: job descriptions aren’t a tactical to-do list. They are designed to guide overall performance.
Ghostbusters Business Strategy #3
Productivity
Our favorite ghostbusting team is out of control. First, they wander, which is finally corrected. Then they go all crazy trying to be everything to everyone: hotel managers, private citizens, the NYC Mayor, and the regulatory compliance officer. Of course, there isn’t a plan and they all achieve burn-out and become reckless. Only when there is a crucial need for their services does their expertise supersede their lack of effective and efficient productivity.
A close cousin to job descriptions is productivity. If done correctly these two aspects support one another. Do you have all your strategies and actions developed either digitally or hard copy – or a combination of the two? I do a hybrid of the two. I encourage you to make time to develop these as a guide for yourself (and team members can do this as well).
You accomplish more when you have a plan to guide your actions throughout the day. Gift yourself greater peace of mind by planning tomorrow’s actions today. When you have your guide, you move through your day more gracefully and with less effort on the small things. This ultimately provides more bandwidth for you to produce at high levels of achievement. Perhaps productivity can become your proton pack 🙂
If you’re saying, “Ooooh, I need to make some changes.”
Congratulations! What should you do next? Try this:
If you need help with any of these strategies or other business performance frustrations, just contact Maggie for a 30-minute conversation – either with a call or this link to discuss the gap between where you’re at and where you’d like YOUR Business to be Performing. Don’t worry, it’s not a sales conversation – don’t bring a credit card because it won’t be accepted!
Feel free to share in the comment section which one of the Business Strategies from Ghostbusters (1984) movie would serve YOUR Business best right now?
THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO HELP YOU
SIMPLIFY YOUR SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS!
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This Brilliant Breakthroughs Business Movie Review is brought to you by:
Master Business Coach & Strategist Maggie Mongan
Brilliant Breakthroughs, Inc. Site & Blog: www.BrilliantBreakthroughs.com
LinkedIn: Maggie Mongan
Direct Dial: 262-716-7750
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