28 Films & TV Shows Every Product Manager and Analyst Need to Watch

A list of great Movies and TV shows to revive your love for your job

I know with a headline like this, you just want me to get to the meat of the content so I’ll be brief with my intro.

There are times when I’ve lost my passion for work. I feel uninspired and demotivated. I’m not sure why I feel this way, but I do. One thing is for sure, I know I’m not the only one who goes through this. There are probably a million reasons for why we feel this way. It could be because we’re working on something that is soul-sucking. It could be that we’re drowning. It could be because we’re not being heard. Whatever the reason, we all go through this feeling.

When I’m going through a particularly meh period, I try to do something that will help pull me out of this pit. This could be: stepping away from my desk, going to an event or speaking to people at work or in the industry. But my favourite tool and one that I know works 99% of the time is the big screen (or the medium sized one in my living room). Turning to the magic of cinema and television usually helps reignite the flame of passion I feel for my work. Today I thought I'd create an IMDb list and share that list with everyone. Introducing:

Bhav's Screen Strategy: A Curated List of Films and Shows for Product Managers and Analysts.

Here is The IMDb link for easy bookmarking and for anyone who wants to see more details about directors, actors, ratings etc… For anyone that doesn't want to click out, you can find the full list below. I’ve put some notes against a few special mention titles.

Hope this list helps you get through those tougher days when motivation is low, inspiration is fading and passion has all but gone. For now put your phone away and sit back and enjoy the movie. Remember to subscribe, like, comment and share.

— Bhav

• Moneyball

  • Maths meets Baseball. Any analyst worth their salt needs to watch this.

• Tetris

  • When you need to risk everything to get what you want.

• Air

  • That monologue/speech alone is worth watching this movie for!

• The Founder

• Silicon Valley

  • It’s funny how TV show reflects reality (kind of). Also an insanely funny TV show.

• Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game

• BlackBerry

  • Blind pursuit of your vision can be good and bad.

• WeCrashed

  • I still can’t believe this is based on a true story. The world is nuts!

• Halt and Catch Fire

  • The best TV show no one has heard of. Every product manager in the world should watch this.

• The Social Network

  • If you haven’t seen this, should you even work in tech!

• Arrival

  • When you have a deep understanding of your field.

• Jobs

  • Biographical drama of Steve Jobs’ life. What’s not to love.

• Steve Jobs

  • Key keynotes of Steve Jobs’ career.

• Ford v Ferrari

• Good Will Hunting

• Proof

• The Billion Dollar Code

• The Dropout

  • You’ve heard of Theranos I presume?

• Brexit: The Uncivil War

  • How algorithmic database-driven micro-targeting tools resulted in one of the biggest political upsets of modern times.

• Interstellar

• Hidden Figures

  • Truly inspiring story of the African-American female mathematicians who helped NASA launch a man into orbit.

• The Man Who Knew Infinity

  • For you mathematical purists.

• The Imitation Game

• A Beautiful Mind

  • Nash equilibrium!

• The Big Short

  • I’ve seen this movie at least 15 times. Another analytical masterpiece showing the value of data.

• October Sky

  • Finding your calling in life. A feel good movie about maths and building rockets.

• Margin Call

• The Theory of Everything