Exploring Valuable Management Lessons and Insights from Rocket Singh

Hi Friends,

Please find the link to an article discussing the management lessons from the movie Rocket Singh. Unfortunately, the link no longer exists. The article focuses on entrepreneurship.

Excellent work! Keep posting such content.

[The link provided no longer exists]

Great work! Keep it up. We should have more movies like this one.

It's too bad that people do not understand the real message of these types of movies, so these movies don't do that well.

Hi Amit,

I read your article. Amit, I am also an ISTD pass out (I noticed that you are also an ISTD pass out). So I decided to give my frank opinion. I hope you do not mind.

Amit, I have been observing that it is becoming a norm to draw conclusions from certain films and to tell others that we can learn from them. People have written about "what we can learn from Lagaan," "what we can learn from Chak De India," etc.

Now, I have a problem with this. The things that people mention as learning points from these films are already known to us. For example, you are talking about serving your customers, making your work environment safe and respectful, working closely with the best in the industry to understand the business, etc. I am sure everybody knows these things. We do not need to watch a movie to learn that. The real problem that we, as HR professionals, must address is "HOW TO PUT THOSE THINGS INTO PRACTICE."

But let me tell you, Amit, I do not want to take away any credit from you. These views are my personal views. All the best.

Regards,
Jayram.

Hi Jayram,

I am delighted to see a healthy discussion. This is the real intention of putting posts here. I am open to receive all viewpoints. I respect your view and encourage such feedback.

My views on deducing lessons from movies and other aspects of life:
I am sure we all know the lessons and there is no rocket science in the lessons. The idea is that even a simple movie which seems to have plain entertainment can have something to learn. Everything around us teaches something or other. The entire universe is based on core human values which deduce the management lessons. Lessons from eagles, flowers, bees, ants, etc., are common. This is helpful for trainings and makes the context interesting. Kind of storytelling. Grabs attention! Everyone knows it's good to donate eyes, but we need Amitabh and Aishwarya to come and request to donate eyes. "Rocket Singh" is a medium of storytelling, grabbing the attention of the youth who would prefer watching "Rocket Singh" to reading Steven Covey or even Vivekananda!

I agree, the tougher work is "how to put those things into practice." Let's collaborate to deduce methods to do so. PMS, rewards and recognition, and work culture are important. All this is derived from the mission and vision of the company and the structure.

Trust me, Jayram, I would like to discuss more on implementation and develop customized tools for the same. Please share any specific situations... I am always available at coach@letsbebetterindia.com.

And everyone, please keep your views coming...

Hi Amit,

First, let me congratulate you for your positive attitude. You are a young man (and so am I), and you will go places with this attitude.

Now, coming back to the topic of discussion, I agree with you when you say that these types of analogies are good to catch attention. When Amitabh and Aishwarya talk about eye donation, it catches attention. But are you going to donate your eyes only because Aishwarya says so? No. According to our belief (which I do not think is right), anybody who donates eyes will be born as a blind person in his/her next birth. Believe me, Amit, I conducted a small survey on it and found that the majority of people (who are highly qualified) do not want to donate their eyes for this reason. Now tell me, whether the mission of Amitabh is successful?

As a trainer, you want to go further, and your ultimate aim should be to change their behavior. If you know marketing, you must have come across a term called AIDA. Here, A=Attention, I=Interest, D=Desire, A=Action.

With your Rocket Singh example, you succeed in generating attention. But what about I-D-A? I know a lot of trainers (including reputed international trainers) conduct workshops on these types of themes. I have also attended some of them. Companies pay a large amount of money to trainers with the simple belief that these workshops will do wonders for their employees. But the benefits are very few and it only lasts for a few days.

My only aim is to make you think so that you can innovate and offer a unique solution to your client. I am putting on my black hat so that you can put on your green hat (Refer to the Six Thinking Hats).

Regards,
Sundar Jayram.

Hi Amilt,

I read the story (not seen the movie) and your discussion with Jayram. My conclusion is that you have a sharp mind and a positive attitude, and Jayram does too. In Indian movies, we have a lot of movies where a lot of management lessons are there. See the movies like "New Delhi Times," "Sholay," "Chak De," "Lagaan," etc., we can find a lot of management lessons from these movies.

You both are young, and I appreciate your creative work and positive attitude.

Hi Simhan,

Thank you for expressing your point of view and sharing links for "12 Angry Men." I haven't seen the movie yet, but I will definitely watch it.

Jayram, I agree with your point. Thank you for sparking this thought. I will work on how to develop ID and A based on these lessons and share soon. If you have any ideas, please do share. I also agree that we should not just be motivational trainers who earn 5 stars by playing games, showing videos, or making analogies with movies. That's just the first level of Kirkpatrick's model. I will reflect on this and return soon with insights on effectiveness at all four levels: learning, behavior, and results.

Let's continue this discussion; it's enriching and thought-provoking!

Karthikprakas and Jai Bakshi, thank you for your feedback. I welcome all feedback and aim to develop a robust model based on all your inputs. This is just the beginning.

Hi Amit,

I feel you can do something like this:

1. Show the clips to the audience.

2. Instead of telling them all the learning points, you can ask them what they have learned.

3. You can also assist them so that they can properly express themselves.

4. In this way, list all the learning points.

5. Now ask them to assign some weightage (on a ten-point scale, where 1 means least important and 10 means very important) to each learning point from their point of view.

6. After that, ask them to think about all those learning points in their real job. For example, if the learning point is TEAMWORK, ask them to think about those situations in which teamwork was required and how they performed. Ask them to convert it into a rating (using the same ten-point scale). For example, if somebody had given a rating of 9 to teamwork after seeing the video clip, how much would they give to that learning point in their actual work performance? Here you can see some deviation. For example, a person who gives a 9 rating to teamwork after seeing the clip might have given a 5 in a real work situation.

7. Your task is to conduct a gap analysis. This sort of gap in rating comes because of two reasons: personal and organizational.

8. The personal reason is that even though the person values teamwork, he is fearful that the team leader may take all the credit if he gives his 100%. So in his real work situation, he might have put in only 60% of his effort. Now, his fear may be related to his past experiences, etc.

9. Organizational reasons may include a lack of team culture, etc.

10. Explain this to your audience and ask them to write down both personal and organizational reasons on two separate papers. Give them the option to hand over both papers to you or only the organizational reasons paper.

11. Keeping in view all of the above, ask them to write a job improvement plan.

12. Discuss the organizational factors of deviance with management.

Regards,

Sundar Jayram

I would just like to ask one thing: what have you both personally contributed in your respective fields to bring about change apart from the discussions themselves?

I will wait for the response.

Hi Sundar Jayaram,

That's a nice way. I am a bit busy these days and will get back with further work soon. Thanks for sharing your views.

@ Sushmita: I could not understand the context in which you are asking. I will be able to reply well if you ask about specific fields like PMS, training, compensation, etc. Change where here and what? Some situations need not be changed. It all depends on the business requirements and vision of the organization. There is no point in sharing the whole list of things done in our professional career here. I encourage you to ask for interventions in specific domains. I suppose Jayaram will second my thoughts.

There always has been and always will be a big gap between Ideas and Execution. Movies, Quotes, Books, Seminars- there never has been a shortage of ideas. We need good ideas (and that's where it all begins) but it's execution that wins the game.
“We have a ‘strategic’ plan. It’s called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher
Good discussion guys :)

Hey Amit, first of all, let me congratulate you on this idea of bringing out learnings from the movie. As much as I admire your effort, I would also like to put forward my experience of using movies in training.

To be very honest, I do agree with Jayram. Hindi movies make a very interesting impression on the minds of the learners, but it is better if we derive the learning from the participants rather than making a presentation on the same.

For instance, you can show some clips from the movies and let them derive answers through it, maybe through a discussion or brainstorming. As a trainer, we can just act as facilitators. As Jayram suggested, we can help them in getting the answers to implement a particular behavior. Having said that, let me admit you can create a branding for your training through movies, which will help in creating excitement and curiosity for the program.

Movies should be used as a case study rather than driving results directly from them.

Regards,

Prakash Almeida

Hi all,

I have been following the discussions and learned that everyone is young. Well, age doesn't have anything to do with the desire to learn. What's more important is that we are all keen to learn, and that's it.

I share my views without any expectations. We are all compelled to act, behave, talk, conclude, and so on based on our level of understanding, which is a result of our upbringing, environment, and learning. That's the ultimate truth. So, each one is right in his/her place. It has been rightly said, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears," and it's true. The one who has reached the state where they want to learn will learn from any source, be it nature or films.

A very noble objective, indeed! Making people think; they will when life brings them to a point where there is no alternative but to think, and that's when they will. However, we must not lose hope. We should keep on learning, trying, thinking, glowing with our inner lights, discussing, sharing, and finally, keep on smiling with happy hearts, knowing that we are doing our bit.

God bless!

Dear Amit and Jayram,

This discussion forced me to think and write this about the above lessons from Rocket Singh - they were superb. So many of us watch so many movies, but only a few realize the depth of the message, and even fewer communicate it. So, I believe that post was an appreciable effort.

@Jayram: Every big and small activity starts with the idea or the thought about it. Though the lessons were known to most of us, still, this acted as a brush up for us. This never reduces the importance of developing proper processes to ensure the right implementation. But first, we have to realize that there is a gap, or we just need one more reminder for this, which I feel Amit successfully did. As they say, 'efforts are only appreciated, and results are rewarded,' definitely, we need to pay more stress on stimulating positive changes and executing such philosophies.

Hope you both don't mind my interruption between your discussion. Please don't take any statement negatively; they are my personal views, and we can always have a different opinion.

Shveta

Hi All,

I just want to say everything revolves around money, whether it's a movie or a motivational session. Please don't try to show that you are doing something for society. If you are truly making a difference, just share one incident that you contributed to and that produced real results. My main point is that movies are created solely for profit; they have no intention of educating anyone. Trying to derive value from nonsense is futile. I may come across as harsh, but it is the reality.

Most film stars are only in it for the money. Only a few of them genuinely have a service-oriented mindset. Before pointing fingers, consider the field you are criticizing. Instead of promoting movies and acting like marketing executives, showcase real individuals who have made sacrifices for causes they believe in.

I apologize for the bluntness, but I felt the need to express these thoughts.

DRK

Hi DRK,

I agree, everything revolves around money. I am not saying that the movie was made for a noble cause. The point is: if there is something worth learning even from entertainment, let's learn.

Meanwhile, no one says that a movie can substitute biographies and moral lessons. Apart from this point, I guess there has already been a discussion on this topic (ref: 12 Angry Men, learning from insects... Did God create ants for us to learn hard work? But we still give examples...).

Healthy discussions are always welcome. I thank you for your viewpoints. And at least I am not getting any money for marketing this movie... lol.

Regards,
Amit

Hi Amit,

I loved the last statement, LOL. I know, man, that there is learning everywhere around in nature. But somehow, looking at the lifestyle and the kind of industry the films are, I completely reject learning from them. I am sorry to say that many times, a romantic hero in one movie is projected as an angel in the next. Though they call it acting on the screen, you can't take away the kiss and exposing to contribute to make it the talent.

Somehow, learning from these kinds of things, I don't like. They have lost their motto of entertainment, is what I feel.

Anyway, loved to see your response. Keep posting.

DRKR

Why do people compare filmy stories to management theories and draw their own self-made conclusions and management lessons? I think the days are not far when someone will post management theory lessons learned after watching a SHAKIRA dance or a BEYONCÉ KNOWLES dance. Maybe someone might even post a management theory on a cricket match, an advertisement on TV, or a human pyramid made during Gopalkala (Janmashtami). I was surprised to find management lessons from movies like "I Hate Luv Stories," "Sholay," etc.

There are thousands of Hindi movies and English movies released every year. Just imagine if everyone posts their management lessons from each movie. Moreover, each member will have differing opinions on what he/she learned from such a movie.

The whole point is that each situation or story is different. Life has its own lessons to be learned, and nobody teaches us that. It's only when we experience it that we learn our lessons thoroughly. My only point is that making too many conclusions based on assumptions might not be appropriate and in the true sense of a knowledge-sharing site.

Regards

There is nothing wrong in using films to make a point. For example, the movie titled "Twelve Angry Men" is widely used in management training. It shows that people have started to reflect on situations and how they fit management theory/concepts. I had come across this in the early 1970s as a management student. For example, see [Big Monkey, Helpy Chalk: Teaching 12 Angry Men](http://helpychalk.blogspot.com/2006/08/teaching-12-angry-men.html).

I am not very conversant with Indian movies; however, I am sure they can be used too with a bit of imagination and self-reflection.

Have a nice day.

Simhan

Agreed, Sir. In fact, movies are a great source of role-playing and inspiration as they leave an impact on minds due to their larger-than-life visuals and storylines.

My only concern is that over here, quite a lot of movies seem to fall into the category of management lessons learned. It seems fashionable nowadays to make a statement of Management Lessons Learned and post it, irrespective of whether the so-called depicted lesson learned is truly noteworthy. It's something like one learns management lessons right from birth through parents/guardians, but one doesn't need to mention it in mature, grown-up forums every time as it is a well-known fact. Nothing against it, just a thought.

Regards

Some more discussions on a similar topic can be found at https://www.citehr.com/40112-lagaan-...next-what.html.

Thank you for sharing the resource. Feel free to explore the discussions further.

Hi, @nashbramhall... Thanks!! HAHAHA... Hopefully, by the end of the year, we will have many more lessons learned from Hindi movies compared to the actual theories written in management. I was wondering if someone has thought about management lessons learned from songs in these movies too!!! That should be GREAT! Management theories also could not keep off the glitter of Hindi movies! Every damn movie seems to make it to the management lessons learned grade. So much show-off on the catchword of the century - 'Management'... Regards

Trainings are not successful because we (Training Community) don’t focus on the objective. We concentrate and get elated on our ability to think differently and to look things in varied perspectives. We move away from how to help the participant to develop and get narcissist about our ability. Training is connected pre by solutioning and post by Training Transfer. Training is but only 25% of the development cycle. Trainers and community has to understand this in holistic manner only than we can be effective. It’s not our ability that’s counted.
The paradox is we have to be different and understand a lot but to keep ourselves grounded. We have to find Solution –Train-Transfer.

Hi all,

I am doing a project on "problems of sales workforce in India." I need all information about what the problems of the sales workforce in India are. Besides, I also need various ethical, HR, and other issues from the movie Rocket Singh. Thank you. Please reply to me as soon as possible.