Now, this is not a review or a critique – I am extremely late to that party. I only watched the movie sometime last month. And I had never even heard about it prior to that, so I must have missed whatever brouhaha there might have been over it back in 2014.
Well, Nightcrawler is a 2014 thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the protagonist. The movie also features Rene Russo and Bill Paxton, amongst others.
At the beginning of the movie, I felt pity for Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal’s character) – dude was just looking for a break, a chance to prove his worth.
As I went through the different emotions the movie had taken me through, I came to respect Louis and what he had accomplished. This led me to review his tactics and I realized the dude was quite business savvy for all intents and purposes.
These points are more like reminders that could be applied in our business lives.
- Louis was hungry for success, and he was not looking for handouts.
- He was an opportunist, constantly on the lookout for new opportunities and grabbed one as soon as he saw it.
- He understood the business and industry he decided to venture into. He did his research and he did it well.
- By extension, he utilized his access to the internet to educate and develop himself. According to him, “You can find (al)most anything (on the internet) if you look hard enough.”
- He always paid attention to detail – from quickly learning how to frame the best angles for his shots, to his keen observations about his client, Nina, the morning news director.
- He always re-evaluated and was never content to ‘just be’. He was always looking for ways to up his game and up the ante.
- He knew and understood his competition and wasted no time in taking them out of the picture.
- Louis knew exactly who he was as an individual, capitalized on his strengths and used them to achieve his goals. In addition to that, he knew exactly what he had to offer and was confident that no one else could offer what he had. Therefore he could brazenly mark up his price.
- He always had bargaining power.
- He always delivered quality, no matter the cost.
- He understood his client, knew her weaknesses and used this knowledge to his advantage.
- He was focused on his goal of expanding his business.
- He was persistent.
By harnessing these traits, Louis Bloom went from being a petty thief to being the CEO of Video Production News and being recognized for his work.
So, there you have it…my business lessons from the movie Nightcrawler.
Like I pointed out earlier, you already know this stuff but sometimes, it’s good to have a reminder, especially from an unlikely source.
Do you agree with them? Do let me know what you think.