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(The blockbuster movie after the novel by John Grisham)
Every time I run across a business with substance and longevity, with all its participants earnestly working long and hard to maintain a volume that will at the very least insure everyone has a job tomorrow…
It makes me think of that movie.
Earnest, warm, competent, solid legal professional, Dustin Hoffman insists he will try his case “the old fashioned way” using intuition and impassioned reasoning to persuade a jury while the younger professional, Jeremy Pivens tries to convince him that his case cannot be won without the new methods of tracking and analysis of prospective jurors.
Hoffman won’t buy into the new method until he sees his opponent or competition is operating so far out of his league that he won’t survive if he doesn’t adapt to the new methodology.
It reminds me of companies trying to operate without a CRM system or any of its corresponding features like social media marketing analytics or automated real time customer service recording.
Forever the bad guy – Gene Hackman of course loses in the end but the point is he’s automated – digitally connected – he knows his jurors inside out and it isn’t until Jeremy Pivens’ character is able to convince Hoffman that he needs to get automated as well that the good guys get the analytical tools they need to win the jury!
It’s a great watch for entertainment purposes but the lesson is there as well. Good old fashioned hard work and ethics will need to meet the digital world in order to stay in business.