Paramount’s battle with Netflix to acquire Warner Bros has been quite the drama. I got chatting about this with a CMO over dinner last week, and we went on to discuss whether businesses should act as if they’re in a film/movie or series.
The ‘Movie Mindset’
In a movie, there’s typically a beginning, middle and end, and everything builds toward a climactic moment. Success is defined by a single outcome: the hero wins, the deal closes, the plot is resolved.
Many organisations unconsciously adopt this framing. You can see it when people say:
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“Once we implement the new system, we’ll be set.”
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“This hire will fix the function.”
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“After this transformation, we’ll be future-proof.”
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The problem is that movies end, but businesses don’t. And when leaders operate with a ‘movie mindset’, certain risks emerge:
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Thinking that the consumer proposition is set, while failing to engage with the cultural zeitgeist.
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Over-investing in big-bang initiatives, while underinvesting in continuous improvement.
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Treating strategy as episodic, rather than dynamic.
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Expecting stability after major change, rather than planning for constant evolution.
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The result is that organisations spike briefly, then stall.
The Series Reality
A successful series operates very differently from a film. It evolves to stay fresh, characters develop over time, plotlines intersect, and new storylines emerge as old ones are resolved.
Most importantly, for a series to be successful over many years, it needs continuous evolution on a bedrock of a unifying theme, not a single dramatic peak. Achieving sustained performance in businesses is similar, as it relies on:
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Constant product innovation and brand evolution to stay relevant.
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Disciplined execution and continuous improvement.
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Regular strategic recalibration.
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Ongoing team capability-building, with cultural reinforcement over many years.
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None of this is cinematic; it’s episodic. I’d argue that the organisations that outperform over the long term are those that have a ‘series mindset’.
Why the Series Mindset Wins
A series mindset wins because:
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It normalises continuous change. In a movie mindset, change is disruptive and exceptional; in a series mindset, change is expected and carefully managed.
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It builds organisational stamina. Blockbusters are about intensity; series are about endurance. Businesses that succeed over time develop institutional muscle memory: governance rhythms, decision-making cadences, and leadership habits that sustain performance through many cycles.
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It changes how leaders allocate attention. Movie-mindset leaders often focus disproportionately on the headline moments such as the deal, the launch or the restructuring. Series-mindset leaders pay equal attention to the quieter questions that often determine long-term outcomes.
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It creates more realistic expectations. One of the hidden dangers of the movie mindset is emotional whiplash: teams are rallied for the ‘big moment’, only to realise that the day after the premiere looks remarkably similar to the one before. In a series mindset, progress is expected to be uneven: new challenges are assumed to emerge, and breakthroughs are followed by consolidation.
Watch-Outs
Of course, embracing a series mindset is not without risk:
For organisations:
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Momentum can become incremental without step-change thinking.
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Leaders may shy away from bold moves.
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The organisation can drift if the over-arching narrative isn’t clear.
For executives:
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The work can feel less dramatic, which can be psychologically challenging.
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It requires sustained energy and resilience, rather than short bursts of intensity.
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Success becomes harder to attribute to any single initiative.
Great businesses still have defining moments, just as great series have stand-out episodes. But neither relies on them for long-term success.
Tips for Success
To lead with a series mindset, we believe it’s important to:
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Define the long-running narrative, so individual initiatives feel connected.
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Develop products, systems and leaders that can evolve as the plot inevitably changes.
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Invest in the weekly, monthly and quarterly rhythms that drive repeatable execution.
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Schedule strategic refresh points. (Even the best series benefit from periodic reinvention.)
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Celebrate progress, not just peaks, so teams are recognised for consistent delivery, not just breakthrough moments.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, blockbusters are exciting, but series are enduring, and I believe the organisations that will thrive in the upcoming years won’t be those waiting for one, dramatic finale.
As in the best long-running series, they will be the ones that are consistently and deliberately producing strong episodes, refining the cast, tightening the script, and staying close to their audience.