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Lessons From The Movies Part 2
By Ron | July 19, 2010
I just watched Invictus, the movie about President Mandela using the 1995 Rugby World Cup to unite his country. His challenge was to alleviate the white citizens’ fears while not losing the black citizens support. The South African Sports Committee had already moved to eliminate the Rugby team’s name and colors because they signified apartheid to the committee and to the black populace who rooted against their own home team. Mandela reversed their decision and subsequently encouraged the team to improve so that they could win the cup. He felt strongly that his country needed a big win for national self-esteem and he needed both sides to participate.
The “Nelson Mandela Model” should be the basis for every company takeover or corporate merger. He wisely knew how important symbolism is to human beings. We treasure our logos, history and lore. I learned early on from Dr. Charles Hughes that the best thing to do in a “takeover” is to preserve as many of the policies, procedures, logos, mores, customs and values of the previous regime. Without this type of respect in action, resentment is sure to set in.
By the way, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, rent the DVD and you’ll see for yourself how successful his strategy was.
Topics: HR | 1 Comment »
July 27th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
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