Jon Mueller, bigwig at 800-CEO-READ, a beloved online retailer of business books, posted a Q&A with me about this screenplay. His questions help to connect the dots between the drama of the screenplay and the details illuminated within the storyline on starting/running an entrepreneurial venture.
Below is a snippet of the interview and for the entire interview, CLICK HERE.
JON MUELLER: There is also an entrepreneurial side to the screenplay. What is the main lesson for the entrepreneurially minded you hoped to communicate through the characters?
JOHN MOORE: At Starbucks I knew a lot of smart and die-hard company loyal people like “Vivian Kane.” Vivian is a main character in TOUGH LOVE, she’s a classic company cheerleader—probably to a fault. She suppressed her entrepreneurial aspirations to take the easy way and stay at a company she secretly is losing faith in. The lesson being… gain experience and confidence at some company and then scratch your entrepreneurial itch, if you have one.
JON MUELLER: Because of the format, readers get a sense of the personal perspective of the characters. Talk a bit about one example of personal success that’s revealed in the story.
JOHN MOORE: An important storyline revolves around David Pearl, Galaxy Coffee’s charismatic CEO. Many years ago, David scratched his entrepreneurial itch to leave a string of sales jobs to eventually become the driving force behind Galaxy Coffee. The public image of David is one of confidence and competitiveness. However, the private image of David reveals his lack of self-confidence. David masks his insecurity by being revengeful and overly competitive. He will go out of his way to prove doubters wrong, even if it costs him dearly.
By the end of the story David’s life is turned upside down. What he thought was right, turned out wrong. He ends up learning, the hard way, life rewarding and business saving advice. David becomes a better man and a better businessman from all the trials he faces in leading Galaxy Coffee through its growing pains.
>> READ THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW.
The following is a transcript of a make-believe conversation I had with Maureen Lopaze, a freelance business writer. In this conversation, we discuss TOUGH LOVE and how this screenplay can benefit entrepreneurs and small business owners.
[MAUREEN LOPAZE]: You’re positioning TOUGH LOVE as a business book masquerading as a screenplay. Does it read like a Hollywood screenplay?
[JOHN MOORE]: Yes it does. There are seven main characters and two plot lines — one major, one minor — that tell the story of how a rags-to-riches entrepreneur finds success building a company to be bigger only to realize, the hard way, that smaller is better.
How do you share business lessons in the script? This is a business book and readers expect to learn something.
The lessons are shared in the dialogue between the characters as they react to how Galaxy Coffee attempts to regain its footing as a beloved brand following questionable business decisions, conflicts between upper management, and surviving through a dreadful economy. Throughout the script there are important bolded lines of dialogue. These bolded lines lead to a section at the end of the script called “Marketer’s Notes” which share actionable business lessons.
Give me an example of a “Marketer’s Note” in the screenplay.
Okay. At a point late in the script Galaxy CEO, David Pearl, and Galaxy’s COO, Shelley Day, have a heated discussion. Shelley isn’t happy with David’s leadership style of ramrodding his ideas to get executive buy-in. Shelley confronts David by saying, “Effective leaders don’t boss, they persuade.” The notes at the end of the screenplay elaborate on this leadership lesson about how effective leaders inspire people to take action and not use bullying tactics to ramrod ideas through a company.
What other business territory gets covered in the Marketer’s Notes?
The importance of creating and fostering a company culture. Lots of marketing principles and branding strategies are discussed. The importance of hiring the right employees is a major lesson throughout the script. Also, lessons about the many complications that result from business growth are discussed at length. That’s just some of the business territory shared in TOUGH LOVE.
It’s obvious you’ve studied how to write a screenplay. Is that why TOUGH LOVE is about 120 pages?
I stayed true to the screenwriting craft. Screenwriters work knowing a page on paper equates to one minute on screen and thus, they keep their screenplays under 120 pages because nearly every Hollywood movie finishes in less than 120 minutes.
Give me the story behind the TOUGH LOVE title.
In the script, a team of former Galaxy marketers work together to write a marketing plan to help correct the many mistakes the company made in growing the business and the brand. These marketers still love the Galaxy business but they don’t hold back in their harsh critique of what went wrong. They talk about how Galaxy needs to stop drinking the company kool-aid and listen to some TOUGH LOVE about how to right the many wrongs Galaxy has made.
This is obviously based off what’s happened to Starbucks Coffee.
Yes. TOUGH LOVE is inspired by the tough times Starbucks has had recently. But, it’s much more a story of how any growing business, big or small, will suffer growing pains. Readers will obviously relate to the story because it does parallel the Starbucks story.
Since you brought it up, who did you write this book … I mean … screenplay for?
TOUGH LOVE is written mainly for small business owners and entrepreneurs. My experience with TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE, my first business book, tells me this audience is most receptive to these types of business lessons. Also, all of the advice shared in the book has been tested in presentations I’ve given in the past three years to small business owners and entrepreneurs. The message in TOUGH LOVE should resonate with this audience.
You are asking a lot of the reader to follow along reading a screenplay. Why not just write a fable?
Maureen, I must practice what I preach. I tell businesses all the time to make the common uncommon. Business books done as fables are commonplace. Have you ever seen a business book done as a screenplay?
Can’t say that I have.
Bingo! That’s why I decided to go the uncommon route and write TOUGH LOVE as a screenplay.