Generalist or specialist? Kubrick seems to have the answer.

If he were alive, Stanley Kubrick would have turned 90 on July 26th. Much has already been said about this cinema genius and his legacy, but perhaps few have drawn a parallel between the artist's career and the corporate market. In general terms, one of the big questions in human resources is defining what type of executive to hire: a generalist or a specialist? Kubrick seems to have the answer.

The director filmed only 13 feature films, with at least seven of his movies becoming recognized and fully accepted masterpieces in the artistic community. Other films, in whole or in part, also stood out as cinematic gems. What is most intriguing, in fact, is the variation of genres the filmmaker experienced in his profession. In Dr. Strangelove, he made a black comedy. Spartacus, an epic. 2001, expanded the reach of science fiction. A space odyssey! With The Shining, he intensified psychological horror. He explored war in Full Metal Jacket. He refined the crime story in The Killing. It is as if a marketing executive traversed segments as distinct as the defense industry, foreign trade, artificial intelligence, hospitality, recruitment and selection, lotteries, etc. Always with results well above average.

Kubrick tackled various cinema genres
just as a generalist executive operates in
different market segments.

And it is not only in the diversity of styles that Kubrick was a generalist. On film sets, he worked on other fronts – cinematography, screenwriting, special effects, editing, and production. He also participated in art direction, set design, and sound design, with absolute control, even though the credits were associated with other professionals attentive to his baton. A study conducted by researchers from Columbia Business School and Tulane University with 400 executives confirmed the advantage of those who bring a broader and more eclectic repertoire, with diverse experiences, tending to assume leadership positions more quickly. In HR jargon, Kubrick had cross-functional skills.

Another study, commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by International Data Corporation – IDC, a global market intelligence and consulting firm, after evaluating 76 million job openings, determined that the most promising opportunities for professional advancement between 2016 and 2024 will require cross-functional competencies over technical and specific skills, even in areas like IT, law, and healthcare. The consultancy also pointed out that among the top 10 skills of the professional of the future is being detail-oriented. The generalist is not a "superficialist."

Reports from major American universities and
companies point to cross-functional competencies
as essential skills for the professional
of the future.

Once again, Kubrick delivers. Like a data scientist who crosses statistics, samples, and diverse business information to guide marketing strategies, the American filmmaker became known for his perfectionism. In the filming of 2001: A Space Odyssey, he developed the centrifuge that simulated zero-gravity movements and effects in a space station, very similar to what happens on the International Space Station built 30 years later. The classic, which turned 50 this year and is being honored by the Museum of Image and Sound – MIS in São Paulo, received the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. To shoot Barry Lyndon, a period film with locations in England, he found a lens at NASA that would allow filming under candlelight, with aesthetic results never seen before and still unsurpassed. The work is a stylistic reference, inspired by 18th-century paintings, and transposed to the cinema screens with rare beauty. In The Shining, he used the resources of the newly invented steadicam to obtain fascinating tracking shots, such as in the hallway scenes and the Overlook Hotel maze.

Always at the forefront of technology, Kubrick
was already addressing artificial intelligence, with the
HAL 9000 computer, long before this concept
became mainstream.

Recognition for actor management is another differentiator. By shooting countless takes to perfection, Kubrick extracted iconic performances from Peter Sellers, Sue Lyon, Malcolm McDowell, Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and R. Lee Ermey. The desire to work with the master led the couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, the most coveted in the 90s, to dedicate themselves exclusively to the film Eyes Wide Shut, rejecting any other offers during filming.

The pinnacle of Kubrick's meticulousness, however, was the Napoleon project. Although it was not realized due to budget constraints, the pre-production work is considered the most perfect ever done. The book Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made (Taschen publishing), with no Portuguese translation, by Alison Castle, reveals the director's involvement in intense research of locations, sets, costumes, cast, chronology of events, historical texts, cinematography, and the development of arguments and the script to ground the work, which generated content and a database with approximately 17,000 images related to the Napoleonic era. The intention of the unfinished film made the director's reputation complete.

Like a data scientist, Kubrick gathered
content and 17,000 images to film the life
of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Diversity is a powerful concept, and for generalist professionals, human knowledge, in any substance, form, or scope, is raw material. Add creative freedom and boldness, and you have the perfect environment for developing new products, services, and business solutions. The IDC report also states that creativity is part of the future executive's profile. Kubrick sought elements from other arts to enrich his own. He wrote his films based on the literature of Nabokov, Clarke, Burgess, Thackeray, King, and Schnitzler; orchestrated his plots with Strauss (Johann and Richard), Beethoven, Schubert, Handel, Penderecki, Liszt, and Ligeti; and drew inspiration from the paintings of Gainsborough, Reynolds, Chardin, Watteau, and Chadowiecki to establish definitive aesthetic virtuosity in the seventh art. He won the recognition of studios, especially Warner Bros., which granted him autonomy in exchange for the director's prestige.

Kubrick sought elements from the diversity of other arts
to enrich his own.
Literature, music, and painting brightened
his work.