Not too long ago (last month), in a theater not too far away (10 minutes from my house), I saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. According to CNN Money, the standalone Star Wars movie brought in $29 million at the domestic box office on opening night, making it the biggest Thursday night opening of 2016. Now that’s a product launch we can all commend. But don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil the movie, go into a storyline analysis, or talk about how bad ass Felicity Jones’ character is if you haven’t seen it (we can save that for another conversation). The entire iconic Star Wars saga does more than tell a legendary story; it’s a cultural phenomenon, a strong brand with endearing characters that teach valuable lessons that can be easily applied in business.
Yes, really, business lessons.
From teaching us to trust gut instincts, to being a great leader, to learning from our mistakes, there are many lessons that can be applied to business from this epic film series. I made this infographic to show you four business lessons from Star Wars that have impacted me the most.
I never thought that Star Wars would teach lessons that could apply to business and then inspire me to write this post. It was an eye-opening moment when these applications popped out at me (and it wasn’t because I saw the movie in 3D). As business people, we need to be fearless, keep exploring and learning, and encourage creativity and innovation. Business challenges never stop, so without these lessons learned, problems can grow galactic in scale. As you cross into new territories and face each day, may these lessons be with you.
