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It’s considered among the greatest movies of all time.

But before The Shawshank Redemption became a modern classic, it was a box office bust that netted just $16 million, $9 million less than its budget.  

The problem with The Shawshank Redemption initially wasn’t a weak plot or poor acting, though.

It was partly timing. The movie, released 30 years ago last month, came out around the same period as Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, True Lies and Speed, according to BBC.

It also had a title that many struggled to remember.

"They came back and [said], 'Oh man, I saw this really terrific movie, it's called the… er… Shanksham? Shimshawnk?' said Morgan Freeman, who starred in the movie.

“One lady saw me in the elevator one time and said, ‘Oh, I saw you in the Hudsucker Reduction'. If you can't get word across, then it just doesn't do well."

Why’s this relevant to us as coaches, executives and leaders?

We often develop great plans and strategies that we think should lead to immediate positive results for our teams and ourselves.

But sometimes, that initial response is far from what we expected.

It’s easy to get discouraged in these scenarios by the numbers or the larger public perception, but the feedback early on isn’t always indicative of the strength or merit of our idea.

Sometimes, it just takes the right set of eyes, additional reps, or a break along the way for our concept to take off.

The Shawshank Redemption didn’t garner widespread acclaim until it reached the home-video market a year later. When it did, it became the most-rented movie of 1995.

Now, it ranks as the No. 1 movie ever on IMDB.

If we’re struggling to see results today for what we feel is a well-crafted plan, don’t get discouraged.

It may just need a little time to become a big success.

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