I love William Goldman’s classic The Princess Bride, and the movie of the same name. And as a dad, I’m proud that my kids can quote portions. (Not as much as me, but I’ve seen the movie a few dozen more times.)
But did you know there are nonprofit lessons embedded in the story? Here are three I’ve identified:
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Praise everyone–even those you’re fighting against
Remember when Westley, as the man in black aka the Dread Pirate Roberts, dueled with Inigo Montoya? They covered lots of ground and Westley praised Inigo’s technique. Even as he knocked him unconscious, he compared Inigo to a stain glass window.
As nonprofits, we are so often focused on what we’re doing to “fight the good fight” that we don’t talk up the work of others. And, if we’re honest, we sometimes fear that talking about other organizations might cause us to lose donors. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As we talk up the great things others are doing, we position ourselves as trusted authority in our cause space. That leads to more people to seek us out!
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Have the guts to stick with a message
“Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya…”
Ha! I heard you finish that sentence! 🙂
Inigo spent two decades repeating that phrase, seeking the man that killed his father. He’d even given up hope. But in the end, he found the man with the six fingers.
For those of us in nonprofits, we repeat the same messaging and phrases over and over. And we get tired of them. But we get tired of them long before our donors and others do. To help get our message out, we have to repeat, repeat, repeat.
We may find ourselves saying them in our sleep. But we need to keep sticking to it!
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Don’t give up
After Westley was taken from her in the fire swamp, Buttercup knew “her Westley” would come for her. And eventually he did.
For those of us championing causes, we need to have that dogged faith in the hope we’re striving for.
Some light blogging for a Friday! What would you add to this? Tell us in the comments!
Love comment #1: It is hard to get things done when people find it hard to talk to you. Show people what is going on but be willing to listen.
Thanks for the fun post, Marc!
Here’s another lesson from Princess Bride – “there’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead” Know the difference and don’t give up on anything that’s only “mostly dead”
Awesome message, but just for the sake of correctness: The character’s name is Westley, not Wesley. :]
This is perfect! I love this movie. Vizzini is obnoxious, but good lessons from him as well.
Diversify plans as it’s “inconceivable” to think there’s only on way to execute an idea or that no problems could arise. Vizzinism kills!
Fantastic correlation. Love it!! Also, great points about dead/mostly dead and inconceivability (is that a word?!). Here are two more for consideration:
#4: A good cheerleader is important.
As Fezzik and Inigo carry Westley away from Miracle Max’s, Valerie hollers, “Bye bye boys. Have fun stormin’ da castle!” Max isn’t sure the pill will work.
There will always be challenges, some you can predict, some you can’t. How many times have we all heard or even used the phrase, “in these tough economic times…” For the sake of our respective missions, we can’t become discouraged. Find and surround yourself with positive people who understand “stuff” might happen, but it’s still worth the undertaking.
#5. Be creative. And don’t underestimate your team.
While staking out the castle gate and planning their attack, Westley bemoans the fact they don’t have a holocaust cloak. At face value, it doesn’t seem one would have anything to do with the other. Westley assumes they don’t have all the tools they need to make the plan work. *Poof* Fezzik produces one. Nobody knew he had it.
Don’t discount creative plans too quickly. If you don’t make the ask, you can’t hear a YES!!
Love it, movies are something I use as fodder for business lessons all the time, a few movie studios love me for that 😉
These are great additions to your post and now I want to see the movie AGAIN.
Marc I know you will get a kick out of a post I have scheduled for tomorrow using similar theme of Jungle Book ( it will not work until LIVE Sat am)
http://www.socialmediaforsmartpeople.com/3-social-media-strategy-lessons-from-jungle-book
Did you see the back and forth Kami and I did on Monty Python?
http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/2011/11/everything-you-need-to-know-about-risk.html
hers was brilliant and I answered her with a post
http://socialmediaforsmartpeople.com/how-is-being-a-business-owner-like-being-a-king/
Now I guess another lesson is to pay attention as inspiration comes from strange places.
These are all great!!!
I can’t believe that I never knew his name was Westley!!!
Be consistent every day with what you do, even when it does not appear to be getting immediate results. I figure every person I can make a positive impression on is an investment in the future.
I don’t mean to pry, but you don’t by chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand?
Fun post, Marc! Another lesson from the movie? Build up your tolerance for donor rejections. Just like Wellesley did with the cyanide!
John: Nice!
Lil: Nope. 🙂
Shanon: LOVE IT!
“As you wish.” Respect your donor’s requests to be on an email list rather than mailing, to have their donation remain anonymous, etc., because when we do, it really means “I love you.”