I Think I've Lost the Plot - [website] Published: 15th of Mar 2011 by: (c) Staff Training Reporter
While some of us may find comfort in predictability we shouldn’t say the same for films, yet year after year we see the same stories being churned out with different characters in different places.
I guess I’m talking mostly about the romantic-comedy genre, which as a guy I might not be the most educated in, but I still feel like nearly every romantic-comedy I’ve ever seen revolves around the same basic plot.
Guy meets girl, they begin to date. Guy (or girl, we’re a non-discriminatory society) mucks things up in the relationship and it appears inevitably doomed. Then guy has to race the clock and defy the odds (whether it’s crossing a country overnight, racing to an airport or breaking up a marriage) in order to be with his true love. This done, the couple can settle down into normalcy and thereafter be forgotten.
But is it just me or has this particular sequence of events been played to death by now?
And the thing is, most of these films are unbelievable anyway.
That’s one of the things my employment at Staff Training has taught me – that there’s nothing more important than keeping it real.
If you’re not real with your clients (or audience) you’re not going to get where you want to get, and to your target market it’ll all look like pie in the sky that never materialises into results.
So when you look at Confessions of a Shopaholic, for example, and see that while the movie purports cautious spending it’s actually filled with product placement, you’ll begin to appreciate more those who give it to you straight.
For in today’s world there is no ‘ideal’ solution for everyone, no quick fix to be had and no managing, teaching or coaching style that fits everyone, just like there should not be one storyline serving an entire genre of film.
So how can we cater to everyone’s different needs, you may ask?
Well, unlike Hollywood (who must feel like they’ve uncovered the greatest movie idea of all time as they watch the masses flock to cinemas week in and week out to see the latest romantic-comedy) issues are tackled a little differently at Staff Training.
We realise that life is not predictable; it throws us curveballs that need dealing with and constantly demands that we grow and develop.
This is why we base out research, material and solutions on real-life experiences – your experiences – because this allows us the most accurate and relevant way to solve problems.
So instead of sticking to the old script and just editing the names and locations, we constantly investigate what’s happening in our corporate South Africa to ensure we’re not spewing out the same outdated spiel that worked for us once upon a time.
