Cocktail came out in 1988.
The film tells the story of a young business student, Brian Flanagan, who takes up bartending in order to make ends meet.
Tom Cruise plays Brian.
Brian used to be in the Army but over time he learns the tricks of the bartending trade including the famous ‘flairing’ from his mentor Doug.
The movie gets a bit weird and everyone turns up 3 years later in Jamaica and they start swapping girlfriends and all the female characters look similar so its hard to keep up.
Anyway, in the movie Brian says to Doug:
“Not a goddamned thing any one of those professors says makes a difference on the street.”
and not a truer word has been spoken.
I surveyed my clients last year on their biggest challenge in growing their ecommerce businesses.
One word came up repeatedly.
People.
Hiring is tough.
Universities and colleges are churning out marketing graduates who are looking for jobs in digital businesses but lack real skills and experience in getting true performance.
I had a call with an impressive young guy and his CEO yesterday. He knew all his numbers and had an instinct where customer growth was going to come from but knew getting external help would give them a shortcut and get there faster.
He knows this because he’s rolled his sleeves up and executed, not read it in a book.
Don’t be dazzled by certificates and courses. Things are moving so quickly that rigid thinking will hamstring you severely.
Be impressed by someones willingness to wade in and experiment.
Their self-awareness.
Their ideas.
and their willingness to execute them.
Remember;
“Not a goddamned thing any one of those professors says makes a difference on the street.”
Brian has flair.
Brian has enthusiasm.
Brian has great hair.
Hire a Brian.
