CATCH SOME BUSINESS LESSONS FROM RENOWNED HOLLYWOOD STAR, RYAN REYNOLDS

Ryan Reynolds is not just a great actor. He is also an A-list Hollywood star. The many projects he has worked on in Hollywood typically depicts Ryan as not only a funny guy, but also a serious human being. A part from acting, Ryan Reynolds similarly doubles up as a seasoned entrepreneur. The companies, which he is associated with have sold in billions. And he is not afraid to mix his creativity with business. When creativity and business acumen cross, this is where we get great business, and leadership lessons from the actor. In his entrepreneurial sprint, Ryan Reynolds owned 25 percent stake in Mint Mobile, which was acquired in March, 2023 by?T-Mobile at a cost of $1.35 billion?according to Fortune Magazine. ??Mint Mobile used to offer direct-to-customer prepaid wireless service among other services.

In addition to Mint Mobile, Reynolds also owned Aviation American Gin, which he acquired ownership in 2018. Two years later, he sold the brand for $600 million to Diageo in 2020. Ryan is quite a business man. Upon selling his successful two companies, he used some of the money to buy a football team. Reynolds owns Wrexham FC alongside his comedy counterpart Rob McElhenney. And guess what? The team is doing so well, coming from relegation to playing in English Football League Two in England. The comedians bought Wrexham FC in November, 2020.

A good question for us, is Ryan Reynolds been this good in business all along? You will be surprised. The answer is a solid no! In fact, at one point, he dreaded marketing. Yet today, he runs one of the most successful advertising agency, Maximum Effort, which produces some of the best viral adverts. Ryan viewed marketing as an obligation until ‘Deadpool’ happened. The studio he was working the project for, started cutting budget, and that meant working with limited resources. In his own words, Ryan said, “Every time the studio took money away from our budget (Deadpool budget), we replaced whatever set piece with character.” This means that the team had to learn resilience during hard times. Resilience finally paid off. Deadpool became the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. His beliefs that limitation inspire creativity, and innovation were cemented in the success of the movie. And today, these are the lessons you will learn from a successful star who increased Mint Mobile revenue by 50,000 percent.

?Willingness to Make Mistakes

Ryan says, “You can’t be good at something unless you’re willing to be bad.” The wisdom in this quote says it all. We all begin from somewhere. That somewhere is not always our greatest position. We make mistakes along the way, and only wise people admit making mistakes. I know the pressure that comes with being at the top. Being in charge of operations that must produce. And that pressure sometimes makes it difficult for leaders to admit when they make mistakes. Most business leaders like to hide. However, when it comes to Ryan, being bad at something is a stepping stone to becoming good at something. There is no shame in admitting failure. It is okay, to learn that you did not have all the answers.

That act of admission alone, shows potential to become a better leader. It shows that you are willing to learn what you don’t know. The act shows that you have integrity, and you care about other people. It also shows that you are human. It is important to learn that human beings do not have it together all the time. We have limits, and sometimes, it is okay to let life run its course. As a leader, you need to understand that you cannot be everywhere at the same time. Moreover, you can also not know everything you need to know all the time. There will always be gaps. You need to take notice of these gaps. And create room for learning opportunities. Don’t be thrown off course when you realize that you messed up. Be willing to be bad at something, if you want to be good at something.

In business, you cannot be good at everything. Things change very quickly in the marketplace. And when these changes take place, especially the changes that you did not anticipate, your attitude better be good. Accept mistakes, and learn from them. Mistakes happen all the time, and it does not matter whether you are the CEO, or an employee. The willingness alone, means something. When you are willing to make mistakes, it means you are accepting your weaknesses. We all have weaknesses. Acknowledging weaknesses opens up opportunities to be a better version of you tomorrow. So, don’t lose it when you err. Mistakes can be very expensive sometimes. But it is only when they happen that people learn.

?Honesty

Reynolds got leadership tips too. And he says, "I think it's such a great tool of leadership to be able to say, 'I don't know.” It is good to be honest. As a leader, you may be worried about your image. Losing face with your team, or boss. However, there is nothing as liberating as the truth. People might not like it, but that is the truth. You really don’t know why the strategy did not work. You had figured it out correctly, and when you proposed it to your team, you had confident in it. However, execution has exposed cracks. Cracks that you missed during the assessment stage. And here you are, a whole leader without a solution. Understand that sometimes, you might not have answers to your immediate problems. It looks embarrassing, and I understand that part. However, if, execution stage is yielding unexpected outcomes, it is time to own up.

In the world of business, there are many uncertainties. ?And some uncertainties can easily be detected, and some escape the most sophisticated eye. Risks hide in some uncertainties until execution time. When such realties happen, and you are the leader, don’t be afraid. Admit that you might not have figured out all market threats. There were many things, which seemed normal until the last minute. Perhaps, a simple answer of ‘I don’t know,’ is what is needed at the moment. By being honest now, you save your company millions of dollars in the future. In the future, you will be wiser, experienced, and researched.

?See Opportunities

Take challenges as opportunities to birth new things. Problems force us to change old paradigms. Adapt to the changing market trends. In fact, without problems, businesses might not know that they are getting things wrong. Learn how to face your problems positively. Do not look at problems as obstacles. Instead, see challenges as opportunities to think better, and change something that is not working. From my experience, problems have a way of getting a leader’s attention. You suddenly see the blind spot you missed. Businesses learn the weight of risks through problems. It is only after the solution you thought was right for a situation fails to work that you realize that the risks were assessed wrongly.

Through problems, businesses learn just how expensive risk is to the survival of the business. When things are running well, it is hard to see threats because everyone seems to be comfortable. However, when there are problems, the person at the top is not comfortable. You must wake up to reality, and find better ways to navigate challenges. And that better way of thinking is what Ryan Reynolds refers to as inspiration. During difficult times, creativity and reflection bring perspective.

A business that was not paying attention to complains suddenly wakes up. Learn from your challenges with dignity. Leaders struggle with this area. They struggle to accept reality. When problems come, everyone wants to hide. However, as a leader, you have to accept reality sooner than later. You don’t hide. Instead, you come out because Ryan Reynold says challenges,?“really inspire ideas and ways to create.”?And he is right. He is a risk taker, and he has done so well learning along the way. Take risks too, and face that problem you have been avoiding.

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