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
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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