25 Movies MBAs Absolutely Love

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

“My favorite movie about business is, without a doubt, The Devil Wears Prada. This movie does an excellent job of showing how adaptation is essential for success in the business world. Anne Hathaway’s character of Andy Sachs was placed in an extremely unfamiliar environment at Runway magazine and quickly learned that her usual behavior would not serve her well at the fast-paced, fashion-forward magazine. When you start a new job, it’s critical to understand the needs of your biggest stakeholders and ensure that you are adapting along the way to meet those needs. The movie also highlights the importance of culture fit in job satisfaction. Andy left Runway magazine because she realized that the high-pressure culture of the publication was causing her to be unhappy. When working for a company, it is important to align your values with the company’s values, or else you might end up in an unpleasant and unfulfilling predicament like Andy.”
Nicolas Ramos, University of Florida (Warrington)

“The first movie that comes to mind is the Devil Wears Prada. I love that, in the end, Andy realized she started to define success based on her crazy environment and not on her heart. While the movie is lighthearted, that message is serious. In a world of “shiny” jobs and opportunities, I feel it is always important to think about if the step you’re taking is aligned with your personal purpose.”
Kashay Sanders, University of Michigan (Ross)

The Devil Wears Prada. In addition to being wildly entertaining, it brings to bear important lessons about personal and professional development. At its core, the movie is about having integrity – what do you stand for? How do you approach a decision that tests your morals? How far are you willing to go to satisfy leadership when there is integrity at stake. There is also a lesson about finding fulfillment in your career by following your dreams and staying true to yourself, despite pressure to fit a certain mold of “success”.”
Faina Rozental, MIT Sloan

MONEYBALL

Moneyball. I’m not a baseball fan, but I really enjoy underdog stories about people and teams who beat the odds. I particularly liked the insight that success is not determined by conventional wisdom (for instance, being a rich team with star players and luck), but by statistics and data.”
Alissa Warne, IE Business School

Moneyball. It has all the elements to make it my favorite: sports, analytics, and a fantastic cast. It taught me how analytics can be used to make more efficient business decisions. It also taught me that you don’t need the top valued players to make a winning team; you could just do it by hiring undervalued players with the right skills.”
Mohamed Faras, University of Illinois (Gies)

Moneyball. The biggest lesson gained is that there is not a single uniform strategy for what success looks like. You may need to go against the status quo and shake the table to make real change.”
Ashley Fox, University of Texas (McCombs)

Moneyball. All around, it was a great, entertaining movie, but it also stresses that relying on the status quo is not good enough. It is imperative to be open to new ideas and approaches no matter where they come from. And getting turned down is part of the game – get back up and do it again.”
Kaitlyn Desai, University of Chicago (Booth)

THE BIG SHORT

“One of my favorite business movies is The Big Short by Adam McKay. While everyone was against Michael Burry’s investing strategy, he continued sticking to his plan (even under pressure) and he stayed committed to his decisions. His path has been difficult and long-lasting but eventually proved to be the right one and to be worthwhile. The lesson I’ve learned from this movie is that you should always go ahead with your vision and stand by your decisions.”
Gal Fisheloviz, SDA Bocconi

The Big Short (2015): The underlying lesson from this movie and the reality it was based on was the search for truth and the perseverance to stick by it despite public opinion. In business, especially as you get older, it becomes easier to trust tradition and silence the contrarian thought. However, as employees who care about the organization and the consumer we affect, it is necessary to question wrongdoing, especially when it is the unpopular opinion.”
Stephanie Gomez, University of Maryland (Smith)

The Big Short. The biggest lesson is crowds are stupid—always ask about the fundamentals, even (and especially) when no one else is. When something seems good because others say it is, be skeptical until you understand it yourself.”
Rachel Whitlock, Brigham Young University (Marriott)

Here are some additional favorites from this year’s Best & Brightest and MBAs To Watch…

Joy (2015) is a movie about Joy Mangano, a divorced mum of three working in a simple job on airline reservations. She invents the miracle mop among other innovations and creates a successful design empire out of nothing.”

The most important lesson I gained from this, was realizing that we “MBA Professionals” overlook the capabilities of workers on the front line. We must be careful, in our own intellectual arrogance, not to ignore the capabilities of the workers we will be managing and to recognize that harnessing the skills of those workers is the key to success.”
Louis Williams, IESE Business School

The Lion King is a story of a young, inexperienced leader who was pushed out of his comfort zone and faced fears and significant obstacles, but eventually grew into an inspirational leader of an entire country. This movie may not have a direct link to business, but I believe that by taking a step back and reflecting upon the challenges Simba faced, one can actually extract insights that are important to become an influential leader and manage people – be it in a country, company, or temporary project.

By observing Simba and the leadership he managed to build – which helped him lead his country – I learned that people who are authentic to their core values are able to build trust and generate buy-in. Ultimately, this creates a culture where everyone feels accountable for and works together to reach various goals. I also learned the importance of having a support system, like Timon and Pumbaa who supported Simba during his most challenging times, as well as the need to fight for what you believe in. Nothing in life comes from free, but if we work hard and persevere anything is possible.”
Nathalie Rashed, INSEAD

“Tom Hanks in 1988’s Big inspired me to retain my child-like curiosity and amazement in my career. His refusal to compromise on his morals has always stuck with me. When I was a kid, I would build massive towns out of LEGOs. I loved making up stories of who had what jobs in the town and what their families were like. I also loved thinking about the specific building blocks that would go into each building.

Big was a cultural indicator to me to not let go of my love for both the stories and the logistics. Now as an adult, just because I know more about the world doesn’t mean I can’t retain the core of what’s important – friends, family, and making our lives safer, more prosperous, and more joyous. In my careers in education, the arts, the music industry, and now consulting, I retain a Hanks-esque sense of joy and wonder.”
Jasmine Hagans, USC (Marshall)

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.