The Shawshank Redemption - A Hope

The Shawshank Redemption - A Hope

The story is about Andy Dufresne (a banker) who has sent to Shawshank Prison for the murder of his wife and her secret lover in 1947. His Life seems to have taken a turn for the worse, but fortunately Andy become friends of some of the other inmates, in particular a character known only as Red. Over time Andy finds ways to live out life with relative ease as one can in a prison. In 1967, Andy had escaped from the prison, for which Red has expected it will take 600 years to dig that wall.

Prison seems an unusual place to seek leadership, however I believe that Andy provides some of the lesson of High Impact Leadership which can be learned from this movie:

• High degree of self-awareness – As Andy know is not physically strong that is the reason some the group is continuously beating him but he is too intelligent. So, he knows his strengths and weakness

• Set Goal and Dedication towards it – Andy was continuously working for 20 years for achieving his in whatever condition has being affected him.

• Strong Relationships – Andy has developed a strong relationship with few of the inmates in the prison, so that he can get all the required things easily without any doubt on him

• Highly Trustworthy – Andy has also gotten the trust of the guards. As he helps them in their tax return and helps warden in money laundering. As these are very confidential information still people share it with him for a solution

• Influencing – Andy has gain commitment from his inmates by helping Hadley (guard) on saving the taxes by drawing on his expertise as a banker, and in return Andy has demanded for some cold beers for his fellow inmates while on the tarring job and when it is being offered to him he denied by saying he had left drinking. Letting others think he has done for them.

If we take examples of real life examples too, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, etc. they had been able to influence the life of other companies too except their own company. But all of them had started with a hope in the mind.

So, it can be said that "Fear can hold you prisoner, but Hope can set you free." Therefore start your day with a hope.