Lion Heart the Movie: Four Business Lessons to take home
Lion Heart; a movie by renowned actress, Genevieve Nnaji has been making waves for its ingenuity and courage to tell a different story. Nollywood over the years, has been criticized for stereotypical roles and stories. Lion Heart was different, roles were switched and the script was unexpected.
As I watched this movie, I saw a different Nollywood. One we can show to the world, one which Netflix bought into. Aside from the well scripted and acted roles, was a lesson, various lessons, but as a business enthusiast, I couldn’t overlook the business lessons.
Let me share them with you;
1. Take Calculated Risks
Mohammed Alli once said, “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life”. He was right. Life itself is a risk, sink or swim.
The plot was centered around Mr. Obiagu the CEO of Lionheart, taking a loan to acquire a fleet of BRT buses in a plight to secure a contract from the Enugu State Government. To him, it was an investment, but in actual fact, it was a gamble. A gamble that went sour, as the contract was annulled.
Lesson: Do not make an investment if your returns are not guaranteed. They may not be 100% guaranteed, but if you must lose, you shouldn’t lose it all. Take a loan for a contract you have already secured. Having that contract is a better collateral for a loan.
2. There is strength in Teamwork
When Mr. Obiagwu fell ill, his daughter, Adaeze was in line to take the throne. She had worked for the company as the Director of Logistics for seven years, she was his daughter. It was only right that she takes the throne, even if on a temporary basis, but the CEO had other plans.
These plans didn’t sit right with Adaeze. This plan meant she had to be supervised by her uncle. She had earned independence, does this mean her father didn’t trust her? Or maybe this is just because she was a girl. It wasn’t fair she thought.
In due time this injustice by her father turned out to be the solution to the company. She literally couldn’t have saved the company without her uncle, Mr. Godswill Obiagwu.
Lesson: Perception is conditioning. Things are not always how they seem. Working with a partner or being supervised doesn’t devalue you, it strengthens you, only if you can learn to leverage on the strength of others.
Napoleon Hill in his book, Think and Grow Rich, highlighted the importance of influencing the specialized knowledge of individuals. You don’t need to know it all to succeed, you just need to know those who know what you need to know and leverage on their knowledge.
3. Build a customer-centric Business
One very common mistake in business is prioritizing the product over the customer. Most businesses believe if they make the best or the cheapest product, people have no choice but to buy into it.
In the movie, we saw a scene where Adaeze had to go to the bus park to personally experience the procedures in the park. There she saw the problem.
Passengers were refusing their services because it was no longer comfortable. Lion Heart had big buses shuttling various destinations, which meant frequent stops, longer travel time. The customers wanted to get to their destination as quickly as possible, so they opted for other brands with small buses who had only one destination.
To the company, they had the best buses, well furnished, maybe with AC’s, neat and comfortable. But it wasn’t what the customers needed.
Lesson: Customers don’t buy products, they buy dreams, comfort, self-worth, aspiration. They buy what they want to be and how they want to feel. Brands like Coca-Cola and Apple understand this and have been successful is selling hopes and status to their customers.
To succeed in business, your product/service must revolve around the customer’s needs not just your passion.
4. A merger is not a loss of ownership
Growing a business takes time, dedication, skill, and vision. Building a successful brand takes even much more. Considering the sacrifice, it takes to build a brand, a merger may be seen as a loss, because you actually have to give up a piece of that business to accommodate a new one. But this is not entirely true.
In the movie, we saw how a merger between Lion Heart and Maikano motors successfully leveraged on the strength of both companies to build a bigger more competitive brand. Lion Heart had a strong presence in the East while Maikano had the desired fleet of small buses. It was a win-win.
Lesson: It takes courage to accept your weakness and bravery to ask for help. That business problem may be just a merger away from being your climbing stone, if only you can start seeing competitors as opportunities.
Thanks to the cast and crew for making such an inspiring movie. I’m sure I missed out on some lessons, please share what you learned with me.
Watch out for my next piece.
