Based on the life story of former US stockbroker Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street has been lauded as teaching us some valuable business lessons.
Written by Terence Winter and directed by Martin Scorsese, the 2013 black comedy was inspired by Belfort’s own memoirs of initially making a fortune, with Leonardo DiCaprio starring as the flawed trader.
In 1999, Belfort was indicted on fraud charges and was jailed in 2003 for stock market manipulation. Before veering into corruption, he was a highly successful businessman.
Trading fairly and honestly
He launched his company, Stratton Oakmont, in 1989 as an “over-the-counter” brokerage in Long Island, based on a style of trading that doesn’t occur in a formal stock exchange. It involves trading between two parties and isn’t as well regulated as formal exchange-based interactions. Although it provides profitable opportunities, it is also high risk.
Initially, Belfort’s goal in business was to trade in a fair and honest manner when his career began as a franchisee of Stratton Securities, a small broker-dealer, but after making enough profits to buy the firm, his ethos of running a reputable company faded, as he succumbed to greed.
In interviews following his fall from grace, he admitted all he had wanted then was to make money. This led to Stratton Oakmont using “pump-and-dump” trading practices, involving “pumping” or artificially inflating the price of stock that had been bought cheaply. The shares become overvalued and are then “dumped” or sold on. As a result, investors fall victim to financial losses when the price of the “pumped” shares drops rapidly.
Belfort admitted to wanting “instant financial gratification” as he made increasingly poor decisions, ultimately leading to the business becoming unsustainable and shareholders losing money.
He has been held up as an example of how to make both good and bad business decisions.
Enthusiasm
On the positive side, Belfort’s enthusiasm was a key reason for his early success. His confident and enthusiastic sales pitches towards clients drew them in and made them feel like they could achieve anything. He famously said you had just four seconds to capture a customer’s interest and sell your idea before they made a definitive judgement.
In 2018, speaking of how to carry out a sales meeting with a new client, he said people evaluated your circumstances “instantly” and made a subconscious decision, depending on how you were perceived.
Three things are essential: how you’re dressed, how you present yourself and how you speak. To make a positive impression, Belfort advises businesspeople to be “as sharp as an arrow, a fool-proof enthusiast and an expert in your field.”
Leadership
Fostering a positive company culture helps to ensure long-term success and employee satisfaction.
The film showed many examples of how to be a leader at work, with Belfort’s leadership skills creating the positive company culture that led to his team trusting and supporting him.
Initially, his leadership methods promoted teamwork, ethical conduct and employee wellbeing, leading to the company’s soaring success.
When you’re responsible for the management of an office, it’s vital to keep the environment healthy for the good of employees and the business as an entity. Unfortunately, over time, unethical behaviour led to a more toxic culture at Stratton Oakmont. This can undermine the business and damage growth and progress, perpetuating conflict among the team and other unhealthy habits.
A successful office manager must keep a handle on company culture and staff morale and take steps to ensure it doesn’t slide.
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