Re: Team Building Videos LO2620

jack hirschfeld (jack@his.com)
Tue, 29 Aug 1995 22:13:16 -0400

Replying to LO2594 --

JeanMarie: Thanks for posting the results of your survey. Several people
have asked me to provide more information about The Commitments, which was
my recommendation, and Tobin Quereau specifically asked that I post the
info for all.

The Commitments is a feature film produced in Ireland in 1991. It is based
on Roddy Doyle's novel of the same name, and was directed by Alan Parker,
whose credits include Midnight Express, Fame, Shoot the Moon, Pink Floyd
The Wall, Birdy, Angel Heart, Mississippi Burning, and Come See the
Paradise.

The film is set in Dublin and is about Jimmy Rabbitte, who decides to
organize a soul band. This film was not designed to teach anybody
anything, but to tell its story, make you laugh a little, and fill you
with music. It is an unusual film, and most audiences don't relate to it
too well (I loved it!). But the film details the development of this band
in a way that clearly delineates the problems of teams (and their glory!)
and - as I said in my original post - puts the stages of development in
clear display. I have used it to work with a team around some of its
problems, focusing on symptoms that connect to the team's phases of
development.

If the film were not 2 hours long, I would recommend it for any team
development program. The length forces more narrow uses, but I strongly
recommend that practitioners who read here look into this film as a
possible tool for work with teams.

The film was produced by Beacon Communications, but I'm not sure who
released it in the theaters or on video. You should be able to get it at
any video store, and I would guess it to run around $60 or less to buy.

If you like The Commitments, check out The Snapper. That's a story about
a young Irish woman who gets pregnant and decides to carry her baby to
term. This film is a wonderful exposition of mental models and ladders of
inference, in its own un-self-conscious way...

--
Jack Hirschfeld                               How long has this been going on?
jack@his.com