I want to talk about a must-watch movie! I want to talk about a movie, which had significant impact on my professional life. This movie has consistently helped me to navigate complex and critical decision making, and consensus building in the corporate world.
This movie was produced much before I was born, and I saw it for the first time in the first half of the last decade of the last century. It was shown to us as a part of a corporate training program, when I worked for one the most reputed corporations in India.
I am talking about the 1957 BW movie “12 Angry Men”. Yes, earlier there was a play, and there was also remake of this movie later, but I am talking about the one starring Henry Fonda.
Rottent tomatoes describes this move as "Following the closing arguments in a murder trial, the 12 members of the jury must deliberate, with a guilty verdict meaning death for the accused, an inner-city teen. As the dozen men try to reach a unanimous decision while sequestered in a room, one juror (Henry Fonda) casts considerable doubt on elements of the case. Personal issues soon rise to the surface, and conflict threatens to derail the delicate process that will decide one boy's fate."
This movie shows you how to weed out noise and propaganda, and search for the truth using consensus building, and asking questions. It reminds you to think independently, and not join the band wagon. It shows how stereotyping can force you make wrong decisions. You may be the only person thinking differently in a meeting or organization, but with a right approach and perseverance, you can influence others to be on the right side. In that process, you are likely to be unpopular, at least in the beginning, but with the right approach, you can convince others to make the right decision. It takes time though, and the movie also shows how patiently Henry Fonda’s character navigates the complex group dynamics to achieve that. This movie reminds me every day what to do and what to not do in corporate meetings, and decision-making processes. I see the characters in the movie in meetings/calls every day! Except the one played by Henry Fonda. I have come across that character very rarely.
This movie has reinforced me to continue to stay unbiased. I consistently receive compliments for being unbiased and not leaning to group-think. Although groupthink is not always bad, we regularly see group of individuals reaching a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the consequences or alternatives.
When DVD was a thing, I purchased a DVD of this movie, and I still have it. I don’t think there is any other movie that had such significant impact on my professional life. Have you watched this movie? Is there any movie that had impact on your professional life?