PITT-JOLIE: THE BEGINNING TO THE END. SIX BUSINESS LESSONS TO LEARN.

                                                         Brad Pitt With Angelina Jolie

It’s their turn and they are in the news for what has been a shock for their fans. Yes, the lovey dovey story of the world most respected celebrity couple came to an end in crashing episode which left many confounded.

An official statement from Angelina Jolie, who is also a UN ambassador indicated that the spilt was for “the health of the family”. She cited irreconcilable differences as the main reason for the divorce.

Though many are shocked regarding the latest news. It’s interesting that there are many lessons to pick from how they managed their relationship from the beginning to the end for individuals, businesses and new couples. There are lessons everywhere so here they are:

THREE LESSONS FROM THEIR UNION

1. The power of positioning

Long before Brad Pitt was even single both stars portrayed themselves as a family in the media. Angelina Jolie once even opened up to the press about how her son Maddox viewed Brad as a father figure. They later moved in together and had children. By the time Brad proposed in 2012, it wasn’t surprising. People already thought of them as a family as opposed to, say adulterers.

Similarly, in business or marketing you need to position your brand or product well. Positioning refers to the place a product or brand occupies in a consumers mind relative to competing products. One way of doing that is showcasing your strengths and sticking to your ideals by telling your story in a way that your detractors can never ignore your strength as a brand and what it stands for. This strategy is able to quickly influence perception in your favor.

2. The power of timing and discrete

Somehow, two of the biggest celebrities in the world managed to marry each other without telling anyone it was happening. This meant no paparazzi and no media circus. In keeping their wedding secret, the couples were able to focus on the time of announcement when they wanted to. 

In business, keeping the project you’re working on a secret has benefits, too. Keeping your mouth shut about your work allows you to protect your intellectual property. It also let you solidify a strategy and make your product the best it can be, before you divert your energy and resources to aspect like integrated marketing communications strategies

3. Manage the Partnership

Marriage requires things like trust, mutual respect, and good communication; so does a successful business partnership. This is harder to come by than you might think, which is why so many marriages end up in divorce and more than half of all new businesses fail. Pitt-Jolie somehow took time to get these basics down over seven years of dating, before they tied the knot. If they could handle six kids, two careers and a breast cancer scare, it’s a safe bet that they showed they had a solid foundation.

As in business, when your business starts to grow you will be faced with challenges of the unknown, you will have to rebound from mistakes and you will need someone to help take up the slack. Choose your partners carefully and if you like it put a ring on it or in business terms, offer a contract.

THREE LESSONS FROM THE DIVORCE

The cat is out of the bag and the world knows that a divorce looms. It’s a matter of when it will be finalized and not how or why. Since May this year, news of the couple has been very sketchy and some made it clear that their two years’ marriage was heading for the rocks. Now that it’s here, these are what we can learn too.

4. Get a Prenuptial Agreement

Jolie and Pitt married after many years of living together, sharing humanitarian work and raising several children. Who would have thought that after a decade-long relationship, their marriage would last only two years?

Many people of religious faith in Ghana oppose prenups as they see it as organizing the marriage into a business venture. Those who speak ill about prenups say it breeds selfishness and apathy if the marriage goes south. 

Prenuptial agreement popularly referred to as prenup is a contract entered into prior to marriage, civil union or any other agreement prior to the main agreement by the people intending to marry. 

The truth is that no matter how in love you are and how much you trust your future spouse, even if you have lived for ten years, you still need a prenup though this may not be apparent at first glance, discussing a prenups requires an openness and level of trust that can greatly strengthen the marriage bond.

In business and relationship management there should always be a contract that stipulates who get what, when the business folds and how business divorce should be handled. At the moment they are not abusing themselves in the media and that is a signal of respect and maturity.

5. Have Same Business Passion

In 2012, Pitt and Jolie purchased an established wine-producing chateau in France. Unlike other stars who put their names on wine labels prompted by an oversized ego rather than an entrepreneurial spirit, these two actor-entrepreneurs saw their investment in Chateau Miraval turn out to be a success.

The Chateau’s signature rose was the only rose to make wine spectators top 100 wines list in 2013. Pitt and Jolie paid 60 million US Dollars for the estate, adding some extra Hollywood- glamour value to the property by having their wedding celebration there on the grounds.

From media reports, the winery means much more to Pitt than Jolie. But the truth is that unless the chateau was listed in a prenup as Pitt’s separate property, the couple might potentially have to liquidate it in order to split their money; or else each spouse might have to come up with the funds to buy out the other party’s interest.

6. Settle Out of Court Whenever Possible

For entrepreneurs like Pitt and Jolie, discussing personal finances in the public eye never does any good. Strategically, there are certain details about your business that you don’t want on the cover of newspapers and magazines.

Just as in business, if your partner in a company for instance, has a suspicion that your former spouse stake in the business might weaken the business it may create problems. This is especially true if your spouse or business partner has no prior connection with the business and no experience.

In that case, it can be devastating for the board members to learn that they will soon need approval from complete outsider for every subsequent business decision. Such fears can have a domino effect and your business can suffer as a result.