Amiram Hayardeny's My China Experience

On Movies and Leadership

I was watching  "Poseidon"(2006) the other night.  It is a remake of the "The Poseidon Adventure" from 1972.  I saw them both, but this isn't the point I will be trying to make.  Poseidon is the regular disaster movie.  People are having a good time, and suddenly disaster strikes.  It could be fire, a giant wave, earthquake, sharks, etc.  The plot is also rather predictable, and the end is usually good.  But these movies usually have interesting points to watch  that may easily be overlooked due to the intense action going on the screen.

Take for example leadership.  There is always the person who promises and succeeds to lead a group of people to safety.  How does it happen?  How is the leader selected?  Why do people follow?  Unlike the movies, in real life people don't follow a person because of his good looks.  They follow because they believe that they have a better chance if they follow.  Analyzing leadership is very tricky, particularly in light of the following observation: "The difference between bravery and stupidity is only the result".  Yet, leaving the cynicism alone, it is fascinating to watch the decision making process, the risks that are taken, the acceptance of the followers.  If you ever rent Poseidon, try to look at it trying to understand the dynamics of leadership.  You will find it quite interesting, I am sure.

Another interesting aspect is to watch the transformation of human beings at a disaster.  How quickly people return to the basics.  In the film (but this is true for other films, and indeed for reality as well), you see people dressed in suits and dress gowns, having a fancy dinner, dancing and having a wonderful time.  A few minutes later they become a group of survivors, struggling for the basics: breathing, having a solid piece of something to stand on.

Yet another point is the intensity and the speed of the decision making process people in this state must go through in order to survive.  A decision making point presents itself at almost every minute in survival situations.  You have to be able to process information quickly and be able to decide based on partial information at a rate of a decision a minute.  Failing to make the right decisions (including failing to make decisions at all) could be fatal.  Obviously, correcting a non-fatal decision very quickly becomes critical.

Last but definitely not least, is the fact that only some survive.  Not because they are smarter, stronger, more adaptive.  They survive because in retrospect they were able to make more correct decisions, and that at every decision making point in which the wrong decision would mean death - they made the right one.  It certainly helps to be smarter and stronger and more resourceful, but it is not sufficient.

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Posted at 01:34PM Nov 24, 2006 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[0]