‘Power’ is a 1986 American political drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Richard Gere. The original screenplay by David Himmelstein focuses on political corruption and how power affects both those who wield it and the people they try to control.
The new drama is based on the true story of a gang of corrupt NYC officers operating out of New York’s 30th precinct in the 90s. The actual officers that will be portrayed were engaged in drug activity, extortion, and government foul play.
The main character James St Patrick also known as Ghost, is an entrepreneur, and today we will examine the lessons a business owner/entrepreneur can learn from him and Power as a whole. This is the second installment from our series on business lessons you can learn from TV shows. The first article in the series covered business lessons to learn for Game of Thrones. Entrepreneurs
1. Plan Your Next Move
On power, Ghost is arguably one of the best strategists. No matter how bad things get, he can always get himself out of it by planning. As an entrepreneur, you should always be planning your next move. Even when you are on top, you have to be thinking about how you can improve.
2. You Need a Support System and People who you are Accountable to
Not every idea and decision you will make as an entrepreneur will be the best for your business and its employees. You will need someone who will call you out when you are making such decisions. It would help if you surrounded yourself with people who would give you their honest opinions about your choices and ideas. On power, Ghost has Tasha for that, she calls him and holds him accountable to his actions. She is also his support system, and every entrepreneur needs a sound support system. People who have you back because there are times when things get hard. It would help if you had a team that is supportive of keeping you going.
3. ALWAYS WORK AND BE AUTHENTIC
No matter what is happening, Tommy Egan is going to be himself. He doesn’t care who doesn’t like it and what people say, because at the end of the day Tommy is going to be Tommy. As entrepreneurs, not just for branding purposes but for us to exist and live within our truth, we must be authentic with ourselves to be authentic to those that we serve. When you can be yourself and do what it is that you want to do, you are first helping yourself, and this allows us to operate with complete fullness. Then, we don’t have to be held to a false standard but can instead focus on living and exceeding our dreams and expectations in our areas of expertise.
4. Stay True to Yourself and Vision
One of the shows most beloved characters on Power is Tommy, and that’s because Tommy is unapologetically Tommy. No matter the situation or what people think, he is always true to himself. As an entrepreneur, you have to emulate this kind of confidence in your vision and yourself. Many times you would be tempted to emulate your competition and might end up losing what makes your brand so special and lose sight of your vision.
5. You Need a Partner like Tommy
When you are choosing a business partner, get someone like Tommy, Tommy and Ghost are two completely different people. They are on two opposite sides of a pole, and that’s what makes their partnership so great. They balance each other out; they each have strengths that they both need to make their business work. As an entrepreneur, you need to know your strengths and weakness and get a partner who will help fill those voids. Just look at Tommy and Ghost, Tommy is the action man while Ghost is the strategist. When getting a partner or building a team, choose people who bring values and assets you don’t have but need.
6. DON’T CHEAT ON YOUR DREAM
Infidelity is what has Ghost locked up. The grass almost always looks greener on the other side. Put in the work by watering your own lawn in your own backyard before meddling in your competitors. The hard work always comes before the harvest, not after, so by making sure that you take care of home first is when you will reap all of the benefits and rewards of your labor.
