diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f172148..4e7f179 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -34,12 +34,18 @@ install:
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/pip install -e . --ignore-installed
 	cp ./bin/subaligner_1pass .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_1pass
 	cp ./bin/subaligner_2pass .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_2pass
+	cp ./bin/subaligner_batch .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_batch
+	cp ./bin/subaligner_convert .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_convert
+	cp ./bin/subaligner_train .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_train
+	cp ./bin/subaligner_tune .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_tune
 	cp ./bin/subaligner .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner
 
 uninstall:
 	rm -f .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner
 	rm -f .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_1pass
 	rm -f .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_2pass
+	rm -f .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_batch
+	rm -f .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_convert
 	rm -f .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_train
 	rm -f .$(PYTHON)/bin/subaligner_tune
 
@@ -57,7 +63,7 @@ test:
 	cat requirements.txt | xargs -L 1 .$(PYTHON)/bin/pip install; \
 	cat requirements-dev.txt | xargs -L 1 .$(PYTHON)/bin/pip install
 	PYTHONPATH=. .$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m unittest discover
-	-.$(PYTHON)/bin/pycodestyle subaligner tests examples misc bin/subaligner bin/subaligner_1pass bin/subaligner_2pass bin/subaligner_train  bin/subaligner_tune setup.py --ignore=E203,E501,W503 --exclude="subaligner/lib"
+	-.$(PYTHON)/bin/pycodestyle subaligner tests examples misc bin/subaligner bin/subaligner_1pass bin/subaligner_2pass bin/subaligner_batch bin/subaligner_convert bin/subaligner_train  bin/subaligner_tune setup.py --ignore=E203,E501,W503 --exclude="subaligner/lib"
 
 test-all: ## run tests on every Python version with tox
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/tox
@@ -79,17 +85,18 @@ pydoc: clean-doc ## generate pydoc HTML documentation based on docstrings
 	cat requirements.txt | xargs -L 1 .$(PYTHON)/bin/pip install; \
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner; mv subaligner.html docs/index.html
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.embedder; mv subaligner.embedder.html docs
+	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.exception; mv subaligner.exception.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.hparam_tuner; mv subaligner.hparam_tuner.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.hyperparameters; mv subaligner.hyperparameters.html docs
+	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.logger; mv subaligner.logger.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.media_helper; mv subaligner.media_helper.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.network; mv subaligner.network.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.predictor; mv subaligner.predictor.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.singleton; mv subaligner.singleton.html docs
+	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.subtitle; mv subaligner.subtitle.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.trainer; mv subaligner.trainer.html docs
+	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.translator; mv subaligner.translator.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.utils; mv subaligner.utils.html docs
-	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.subtitle; mv subaligner.subtitle.html docs
-	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.logger; mv subaligner.logger.html docs
-	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner.exception; mv subaligner.exception.html docs
 	.$(PYTHON)/bin/python -m pydoc -w subaligner._version; mv subaligner._version.html docs
 	$(BROWSER) docs/index.html
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 966e8d0..f2ba8b0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -94,6 +94,12 @@ $ subaligner -m single -v video.mp4 -s subtitle.srt -t src,tgt
 $ subaligner -m dual -v video.mp4 -s subtitle.srt -t src,tgt
 ```
 ```
+# Run batch alignment
+
+$ subaligner_batch -m single -vd /videos -sd /subtitles -od /aligned_subtitles
+$ subaligner_batch -m dual -vd /videos -sd /subtitles -od /aligned_subtitles
+```
+```
 # Run alignments with pipx
 
 $ pipx run subaligner -m single -v video.mp4 -s subtitle.srt
@@ -116,7 +122,7 @@ $ docker run -it baxtree/subaligner subaligner_1pass -v https://example.com/vide
 $ docker run -it baxtree/subaligner subaligner_2pass -v https://example.com/video.mp4 -s https://example.com/subtitle.srt -o subtitle_aligned.srt
 ```
 The aligned subtitle will be saved at `subtitle_aligned.srt`. For details on CLI, run `subaligner_1pass -h`, `subaligner_2pass -h` or `subaligner -h`.
-Additional utilities can be used after consulting `subaligner_convert -h`, `subaligner_train -h` and `subaligner_tune -h`.
+Additional utilities can be used after consulting `subaligner_batch -h`, `subaligner_convert -h`, `subaligner_train -h` and `subaligner_tune -h`.
 
 ![](figures/screencast.gif)
 ## Supported Formats
diff --git a/bin/subaligner_batch b/bin/subaligner_batch
new file mode 120000
index 0000000..6039b36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/subaligner_batch
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+../subaligner/subaligner_batch/__main__.py
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 3f57c21..18814d6 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
           "subaligner.lib",
           "subaligner.subaligner_1pass",
           "subaligner.subaligner_2pass",
+          "subaligner.subaligner_batch",
           "subaligner.subaligner_convert",
           "subaligner.subaligner_train",
           "subaligner.subaligner_tune",
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@
           "bin/subaligner",
           "bin/subaligner_1pass",
           "bin/subaligner_2pass",
+          "bin/subaligner_batch",
           "bin/subaligner_convert",
           "bin/subaligner_train",
           "bin/subaligner_tune",
@@ -68,6 +70,7 @@
               "subaligner=subaligner.__main__:main",
               "subaligner_1pass=subaligner.subaligner_1pass.__main__:main",
               "subaligner_2pass=subaligner.subaligner_2pass.__main__:main",
+              "subaligner_batch=subaligner.subaligner_batch.__main__:main",
               "subaligner_convert=subaligner.subaligner_convert.__main__:main",
               "subaligner_train=subaligner.subaligner_train.__main__:main",
               "subaligner_tune=subaligner.subaligner_tune.__main__:main",
diff --git a/site/source/installation.rst b/site/source/installation.rst
index 3017aeb..b6fbfab 100644
--- a/site/source/installation.rst
+++ b/site/source/installation.rst
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ to create a virtual environment and set up all the dependencies:
     (.venv) $ subaligner --help
     (.venv) $ subaligner_1pass --help
     (.venv) $ subaligner_2pass --help
+    (.venv) $ subaligner_batch --help
+    (.venv) $ subaligner_convert --help
     (.venv) $ subaligner_train --help
     (.venv) $ subaligner_tune --help
 
diff --git a/site/source/usage.rst b/site/source/usage.rst
index f412d23..f241739 100644
--- a/site/source/usage.rst
+++ b/site/source/usage.rst
@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@ Make sure you have got the virtual environment activated upfront.
     (.venv) $ subaligner -m single -v video.mp4 -s subtitle.srt -t src,tgt
     (.venv) $ subaligner -m dual -v video.mp4 -s subtitle.srt -t src,tgt
 
+**Run batch alignment**::
+
+    (.venv) $ subaligner_batch -m single -vd /videos -sd /subtitles -od /aligned_subtitles
+    (.venv) $ subaligner_batch -m dual -vd /videos -sd /subtitles -od /aligned_subtitles
+
 **Run alignments with the docker image**::
 
     $ docker pull baxtree/subaligner
diff --git a/subaligner/__main__.py b/subaligner/__main__.py
index 14da6ec..7c56637 100755
--- a/subaligner/__main__.py
+++ b/subaligner/__main__.py
@@ -140,18 +140,23 @@ def main():
         sys.exit(0)
     if FLAGS.mode == "":
         print("--mode was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.video_path == "":
         print("--video_path was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path == "":
         print("--subtitle_path was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path.lower().startswith("http") and FLAGS.output == "":
         print("--output was not passed in for alignment on a remote subtitle file")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path.lower().startswith("teletext:") and FLAGS.output == "":
         print("--output was not passed in for alignment on embedded subtitles")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
 
     local_video_path = FLAGS.video_path
@@ -194,6 +199,7 @@ def main():
                     Utils.extract_matroska_subtitle(local_video_path, int(params["stream_index"]), local_subtitle_path)
             else:
                 print("Embedded subtitle selector cannot be empty")
+                parser.print_usage()
                 sys.exit(21)
 
         predictor = Predictor()
diff --git a/subaligner/subaligner_1pass/__main__.py b/subaligner/subaligner_1pass/__main__.py
index 12882f4..9fbec7c 100755
--- a/subaligner/subaligner_1pass/__main__.py
+++ b/subaligner/subaligner_1pass/__main__.py
@@ -103,15 +103,19 @@ def main():
         sys.exit(0)
     if FLAGS.video_path == "":
         print("--video_path was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path == "":
         print("--subtitle_path was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path.lower().startswith("http") and FLAGS.output == "":
         print("--output was not passed in for alignment on a remote subtitle file")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path.lower().startswith("teletext:") and FLAGS.output == "":
         print("--output was not passed in for alignment on embedded subtitles")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
 
     local_video_path = FLAGS.video_path
@@ -151,6 +155,7 @@ def main():
                     Utils.extract_matroska_subtitle(local_video_path, int(params["stream_index"]), local_subtitle_path)
             else:
                 print("Embedded subtitle selector cannot be empty")
+                parser.print_usage()
                 sys.exit(21)
 
         predictor = Predictor()
diff --git a/subaligner/subaligner_2pass/__main__.py b/subaligner/subaligner_2pass/__main__.py
index 90ce1a9..500011f 100755
--- a/subaligner/subaligner_2pass/__main__.py
+++ b/subaligner/subaligner_2pass/__main__.py
@@ -130,15 +130,19 @@ def main():
         sys.exit(0)
     if FLAGS.video_path == "":
         print("--video_path was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path == "":
         print("--subtitle_path was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path.lower().startswith("http") and FLAGS.output == "":
         print("--output was not passed in for alignment on a remote subtitle file")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_path.lower().startswith("teletext:") and FLAGS.output == "":
         print("--output was not passed in for alignment on embedded subtitles")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
 
     local_video_path = FLAGS.video_path
@@ -181,6 +185,7 @@ def main():
                     Utils.extract_matroska_subtitle(local_video_path, int(params["stream_index"]), local_subtitle_path)
             else:
                 print("Embedded subtitle selector cannot be empty")
+                parser.print_usage()
                 sys.exit(21)
 
         predictor = Predictor()
diff --git a/subaligner/subaligner_batch/__init__.py b/subaligner/subaligner_batch/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/subaligner/subaligner_batch/__main__.py b/subaligner/subaligner_batch/__main__.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c8da2c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/subaligner/subaligner_batch/__main__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+"""
+usage: subaligner_batch [-h] [-m {single,dual}] [-vd VIDEO_DIRECTORY] [-sd SUBTITLE_DIRECTORY] [-l MAX_LOGLOSS] [-so]
+                        [-sil {afr,amh,ara,arg,asm,aze,ben,bos,bul,cat,ces,cmn,cym,dan,deu,ell,eng,epo,est,eus,fas,fin,fra,gla,gle,glg,grc,grn,guj,heb,hin,hrv,hun,hye,ina,ind,isl,ita,jbo,jpn,kal,kan,kat,kir,kor,kur,lat,lav,lfn,lit,mal,mar,mkd,mlt,msa,mya,nah,nep,nld,nor,ori,orm,pan,pap,pol,por,ron,rus,sin,slk,slv,spa,sqi,srp,swa,swe,tam,tat,tel,tha,tsn,tur,ukr,urd,vie,yue,zho}]
+                        [-fos] [-tod TRAINING_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY] [-od OUTPUT_DIRECTORY] [-t TRANSLATE] [-lgs] [-d] [-q] [-ver]
+
+Batch align multiple subtitle files and audiovisual files (v0.1.4)
+
+Subtitle files and their companion audiovisual files need to be stored in two separate directories.
+Each file pair needs to share the same base filename, the part before the extension.
+
+optional arguments:
+  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
+  -vd VIDEO_DIRECTORY, --video_directory VIDEO_DIRECTORY
+                        Path to the video directory
+  -sd SUBTITLE_DIRECTORY, --subtitle_directory SUBTITLE_DIRECTORY
+                        Path to the subtitle directory
+  -l MAX_LOGLOSS, --max_logloss MAX_LOGLOSS
+                        Max global log loss for alignment
+  -so, --stretch_off    Switch off stretch on non-English speech and subtitles)
+  -sil {afr,amh,ara,arg,asm,aze,ben,bos,bul,cat,ces,cmn,cym,dan,deu,ell,eng,epo,est,eus,fas,fin,fra,gla,gle,glg,grc,grn,guj,heb,hin,hrv,hun,hye,ina,ind,isl,ita,jbo,jpn,kal,kan,kat,kir,kor,kur,lat,lav,lfn,lit,mal,mar,mkd,mlt,msa,mya,nah,nep,nld,nor,ori,orm,pan,pap,pol,por,ron,rus,sin,slk,slv,spa,sqi,srp,swa,swe,tam,tat,tel,tha,tsn,tur,ukr,urd,vie,yue,zho}, --stretch_in_language {afr,amh,ara,arg,asm,aze,ben,bos,bul,cat,ces,cmn,cym,dan,deu,ell,eng,epo,est,eus,fas,fin,fra,gla,gle,glg,grc,grn,guj,heb,hin,hrv,hun,hye,ina,ind,isl,ita,jbo,jpn,kal,kan,kat,kir,kor,kur,lat,lav,lfn,lit,mal,mar,mkd,mlt,msa,mya,nah,nep,nld,nor,ori,orm,pan,pap,pol,por,ron,rus,sin,slk,slv,spa,sqi,srp,swa,swe,tam,tat,tel,tha,tsn,tur,ukr,urd,vie,yue,zho}
+                        Stretch the subtitle with the supported ISO 639-3 language code [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-3_codes].
+                        NB: This will be ignored if either -so or --stretch_off is present
+  -fos, --exit_segfail  Exit on any segment alignment failures
+  -tod TRAINING_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY, --training_output_directory TRAINING_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY
+                        Path to the output directory containing training results
+  -od OUTPUT_DIRECTORY, --output_directory OUTPUT_DIRECTORY
+                        Path to the output subtitle directory
+  -t TRANSLATE, --translate TRANSLATE
+                        Source and target ISO 639-3 language codes separated by a comma (e.g., eng,zho)
+  -lgs, --languages     Print out language codes used for stretch and translation
+  -d, --debug           Print out debugging information
+  -q, --quiet           Switch off logging information
+  -ver, --version       show program's version number and exit
+
+required arguments:
+  -m {single,dual}, --mode {single,dual}
+                        Alignment mode: either single or dual
+"""
+
+import argparse
+import sys
+import traceback
+import os
+
+
+def main():
+    if sys.version_info.major != 3:
+        print("Cannot find Python 3")
+        sys.exit(20)
+    try:
+        import subaligner
+    except ModuleNotFoundError:
+        print("Subaligner is not installed")
+        sys.exit(20)
+
+    from subaligner._version import __version__
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="""Batch align multiple subtitle files and audiovisual files (v%s)\n
+Subtitle files and their companion audiovisual files need to be stored in two separate directories.
+Each file pair needs to share the same base filename, the part before the extension.""" % __version__, formatter_class=argparse.RawTextHelpFormatter)
+    required_args = parser.add_argument_group("required arguments")
+    required_args.add_argument(
+        "-m",
+        "--mode",
+        type=str,
+        default="",
+        choices=["single", "dual"],
+        help="Alignment mode: either single or dual",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-vd",
+        "--video_directory",
+        type=str,
+        default="",
+        help="Path to the video directory",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-sd",
+        "--subtitle_directory",
+        type=str,
+        default="",
+        help="Path to the subtitle directory",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-l",
+        "--max_logloss",
+        type=float,
+        default=float("inf"),
+        help="Max global log loss for alignment",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-so",
+        "--stretch_off",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Switch off stretch on non-English speech and subtitles)",
+    )
+    from subaligner.utils import Utils
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-sil",
+        "--stretch_in_language",
+        type=str,
+        choices=Utils.get_stretch_language_codes(),
+        default="eng",
+        help="Stretch the subtitle with the supported ISO 639-3 language code [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-3_codes].\nNB: This will be ignored if either -so or --stretch_off is present",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-fos",
+        "--exit_segfail",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Exit on any segment alignment failures",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-tod",
+        "--training_output_directory",
+        type=str,
+        default=os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(subaligner.__file__)),
+        help="Path to the output directory containing training results",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-od",
+        "--output_directory",
+        type=str,
+        default="",
+        help="Path to the output subtitle directory",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-t",
+        "--translate",
+        type=str,
+        help="Source and target ISO 639-3 language codes separated by a comma (e.g., eng,zho)",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument("-lgs", "--languages", action="store_true",
+                        help="Print out language codes used for stretch and translation")
+    parser.add_argument("-d", "--debug", action="store_true",
+                        help="Print out debugging information")
+    parser.add_argument("-q", "--quiet", action="store_true",
+                        help="Switch off logging information")
+    parser.add_argument("-ver", "--version", action="version", version=__version__)
+    FLAGS, unparsed = parser.parse_known_args()
+
+    if FLAGS.languages:
+        print("\n".join(Utils.get_language_table()))
+        sys.exit(0)
+    if FLAGS.mode == "":
+        print("--mode was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
+        sys.exit(21)
+    if FLAGS.video_directory == "":
+        print("--video_directory was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
+        sys.exit(21)
+    if FLAGS.subtitle_directory == "":
+        print("--subtitle_directory was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
+        sys.exit(21)
+    if FLAGS.output_directory == "":
+        print("--output_directory was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
+        sys.exit(21)
+    if os.path.abspath(FLAGS.subtitle_directory) == os.path.abspath(FLAGS.output_directory):
+        print("The output directory cannot be set to the same as the input subtitle directory")
+        parser.print_usage()
+        sys.exit(21)
+
+    video_file_paths = [os.path.abspath(os.path.join(path, p)) for path, _, files in
+                        os.walk(FLAGS.video_directory) for p in files if not p.startswith(".")]
+    subtitle_file_paths = [os.path.abspath(os.path.join(path, p)) for path, _, files in
+                           os.walk(FLAGS.subtitle_directory) for p in files if not p.startswith(".")]
+    if len(video_file_paths) != len(subtitle_file_paths):
+        print("The numbers of input videos and subtitles do not match")
+        parser.print_usage()
+        sys.exit(21)
+
+    output_dir = os.path.abspath(FLAGS.output_directory)
+    os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)
+    video_file_paths = sorted(video_file_paths, key=lambda x: os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(x))[0])
+    subtitle_file_paths = sorted(subtitle_file_paths, key=lambda x: os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(x))[0])
+    exit_segfail = FLAGS.exit_segfail
+    stretch = not FLAGS.stretch_off
+    stretch_in_lang = FLAGS.stretch_in_language
+
+    from subaligner.logger import Logger
+    Logger.VERBOSE = FLAGS.debug
+    Logger.QUIET = FLAGS.quiet
+    from subaligner.predictor import Predictor
+    from subaligner.translator import Translator
+    from subaligner.subtitle import Subtitle
+    from subaligner.exception import UnsupportedFormatException
+    from subaligner.exception import TerminalException
+
+    predictor = Predictor()
+    failures = []
+    for index in range(len(video_file_paths)):
+        local_video_path = video_file_paths[index]
+        local_subtitle_path = subtitle_file_paths[index]
+        try:
+            if FLAGS.mode == "single":
+                aligned_subs, audio_file_path, voice_probabilities, frame_rate = predictor.predict_single_pass(
+                    video_file_path=local_video_path,
+                    subtitle_file_path=local_subtitle_path,
+                    weights_dir=os.path.join(FLAGS.training_output_directory, "models/training/weights")
+                )
+            else:
+                aligned_subs, subs, voice_probabilities, frame_rate = predictor.predict_dual_pass(
+                    video_file_path=local_video_path,
+                    subtitle_file_path=local_subtitle_path,
+                    weights_dir=os.path.join(FLAGS.training_output_directory, "models/training/weights"),
+                    stretch=stretch,
+                    stretch_in_lang=stretch_in_lang,
+                    exit_segfail=exit_segfail,
+                )
+
+            parent_dir = os.path.dirname(local_subtitle_path.replace(os.path.abspath(FLAGS.subtitle_directory), output_dir))
+            os.makedirs(parent_dir, exist_ok=True)
+            aligned_subtitle_path = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(parent_dir,
+                                                    ".".join(os.path.basename(local_subtitle_path).rsplit(".", 1)).replace(".stl", ".srt")))
+
+            if FLAGS.translate is not None:
+                source, target = FLAGS.translate.split(",")
+                translator = Translator(source, target)
+                aligned_subs = translator.translate(aligned_subs)
+                Subtitle.export_subtitle(local_subtitle_path, aligned_subs, aligned_subtitle_path, frame_rate, "utf-8")
+            else:
+                Subtitle.export_subtitle(local_subtitle_path, aligned_subs, aligned_subtitle_path, frame_rate)
+
+            log_loss = predictor.get_log_loss(voice_probabilities, aligned_subs)
+            if log_loss is None or log_loss > FLAGS.max_logloss:
+                print(
+                    "Alignment failed with a too high loss value: {} for {} and {}".format(log_loss, local_video_path, local_subtitle_path)
+                )
+                failures.append((local_video_path, local_subtitle_path))
+                continue
+
+            print("Aligned subtitle saved to: {}".format(aligned_subtitle_path))
+        except UnsupportedFormatException as e:
+            print(
+                "{}\n{}".format(str(e), "".join(traceback.format_stack()) if FLAGS.debug else "")
+            )
+            traceback.print_tb(e.__traceback__)
+            failures.append((local_video_path, local_subtitle_path))
+            continue
+        except TerminalException as e:
+            print(
+                "{}\n{}".format(str(e), "".join(traceback.format_stack()) if FLAGS.debug else "")
+            )
+            traceback.print_tb(e.__traceback__)
+            failures.append((local_video_path, local_subtitle_path))
+            continue
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(
+                "{}\n{}".format(str(e), "".join(traceback.format_stack()) if FLAGS.debug else "")
+            )
+            traceback.print_tb(e.__traceback__)
+            failures.append((local_video_path, local_subtitle_path))
+            continue
+        else:
+            continue
+
+    if len(failures) > 0:
+        print("WARNING: The following video and subtitle failed to align with each other:")
+        for failure in failures:
+            video_file_path, subtitle_file_path = failure
+            print("\t{}  {}".format(video_file_path, subtitle_file_path))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/subaligner/subaligner_convert/__main__.py b/subaligner/subaligner_convert/__main__.py
index 0955bf2..b0dd741 100755
--- a/subaligner/subaligner_convert/__main__.py
+++ b/subaligner/subaligner_convert/__main__.py
@@ -86,12 +86,16 @@ def main():
         sys.exit(0)
     if FLAGS.input_subtitle_path == "":
         print("--input_subtitle_path was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.output_subtitle_path == "":
         print("--output_subtitle_path was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.output_subtitle_path.endswith(".sub") and FLAGS.frame_rate is None:
         print("--frame_rate was not passed in for conversion to MicroDVD")
+        parser.print_usage()
+        sys.exit(21)
 
     local_subtitle_path = FLAGS.input_subtitle_path
 
diff --git a/subaligner/subaligner_train/__main__.py b/subaligner/subaligner_train/__main__.py
index 87880e6..7b25043 100755
--- a/subaligner/subaligner_train/__main__.py
+++ b/subaligner/subaligner_train/__main__.py
@@ -209,9 +209,11 @@ def main():
 
     if FLAGS.training_output_directory == "":
         print("--training_output_directory was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.sound_effect_end_marker is not None and FLAGS.sound_effect_start_marker is None:
         print("--sound_effect_start_marker was not passed in when --sound_effect_end_marker was in use")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
 
     verbose = FLAGS.debug
@@ -243,12 +245,18 @@ def main():
         if not FLAGS.resume:
             if FLAGS.video_directory == "":
                 print("--video_directory was not passed in")
+                parser.print_usage()
                 sys.exit(21)
             if FLAGS.subtitle_directory == "":
                 print("--subtitle_directory was not passed in")
+                parser.print_usage()
                 sys.exit(21)
-            video_file_paths = [os.path.abspath(os.path.join(FLAGS.video_directory, p)) for p in os.listdir(FLAGS.video_directory) if not p.startswith(".")]
-            subtitle_file_paths = [os.path.abspath(os.path.join(FLAGS.subtitle_directory, p)) for p in os.listdir(FLAGS.subtitle_directory) if not p.startswith(".")]
+            video_file_paths = [os.path.abspath(os.path.join(path, p)) for path, _, files in
+                                os.walk(FLAGS.video_directory) for p in files if not p.startswith(".")]
+            video_file_paths = sorted(video_file_paths, key=lambda x: os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(x))[0])
+            subtitle_file_paths = [os.path.abspath(os.path.join(path, p)) for path, _, files in
+                                   os.walk(FLAGS.subtitle_directory) for p in files if not p.startswith(".")]
+            subtitle_file_paths = sorted(subtitle_file_paths, key=lambda x: os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(x))[0])
         if FLAGS.use_training_dump:
             print("Use data dump from previous training and passed-in video and subtitle directories will be ignored")
             video_file_paths = subtitle_file_paths = None
diff --git a/subaligner/subaligner_tune/__main__.py b/subaligner/subaligner_tune/__main__.py
index 7a2d3b4..ee124d5 100755
--- a/subaligner/subaligner_tune/__main__.py
+++ b/subaligner/subaligner_tune/__main__.py
@@ -104,12 +104,15 @@ def main():
 
     if FLAGS.video_directory == "":
         print("--video_directory was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.subtitle_directory == "":
         print("--subtitle_directory was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
     if FLAGS.training_output_directory == "":
         print("--training_output_directory was not passed in")
+        parser.print_usage()
         sys.exit(21)
 
     verbose = FLAGS.debug
diff --git a/tests/integration/feature/subaligner.feature b/tests/integration/feature/subaligner.feature
index e764790..024d7cb 100644
--- a/tests/integration/feature/subaligner.feature
+++ b/tests/integration/feature/subaligner.feature
@@ -208,6 +208,18 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
         |  subaligner_1pass |  <NULL>   |  "test.srt"       |   eng,fra         |   "test_aligned.srt"      |
         |  subaligner_2pass |  <NULL>   |  "test.srt"       |   eng,deu         |   "test_aligned.srt"      |
 
+    @batch
+    Scenario Outline: Test batch alignment
+        Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
+        And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
+        And I want to save the alignment output in directory <output_dir>
+        When I run the subaligner_batch on them with <mode> stage
+        Then a new subtitle file <subtitle-out> is generated in the above output directory
+    Examples:
+        |  output_dir       |  mode     |  subtitle-out |
+        |  "aligned_single" |  single   |  "test.srt"   |
+        |  "aligned_dual"   |  dual     |  "test.srt"   |
+
     @exception
     Scenario Outline: Test errors out on unsupported subtitle input
         Given I have a video file "test.mp4"
diff --git a/tests/integration/feature/subaligner_train.feature b/tests/integration/feature/subaligner_train.feature
index 8408703..b3cf6ad 100644
--- a/tests/integration/feature/subaligner_train.feature
+++ b/tests/integration/feature/subaligner_train.feature
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
     Scenario: Test training on the LSTM network
         Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
         And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
-        And I want to save the output in directory "output"
+        And I want to save the training output in directory "output"
         When I run the subaligner_train against them with the following options
             """
             -bs 10 -do 0.5 -e 2 -p 1 -fhs 10 -bhs 5,2 -lr 0.01 -nt lstm -vs 0.3 -o adam
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
     Scenario: Test training on the Bidirectional LSTM network
         Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
         And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
-        And I want to save the output in directory "output"
+        And I want to save the training output in directory "output"
         When I run the subaligner_train against them with the following options
             """
             -bs 10 -do 0.5 -e 3 -p 1 -fhs 10 -bhs 5,2 -lr 0.01 -nt bi_lstm -vs 0.3 -o adam
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
     Scenario: Test training on the Conv1D network
         Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
         And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
-        And I want to save the output in directory "output"
+        And I want to save the training output in directory "output"
         When I run the subaligner_train against them with the following options
             """
             -bs 10 -do 0.5 -e 2 -p 1 -fhs 10 -bhs 5,2 -lr 0.01 -nt conv_1d -vs 0.3 -o adam
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
     Scenario: Test ignoring sound effects during on training
         Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
         And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
-        And I want to save the output in directory "output"
+        And I want to save the training output in directory "output"
         When I run the subaligner_train against them with the following options
             """
             -e 2 -nt lstm --sound_effect_start_marker "(" --sound_effect_end_marker ")"
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
     Scenario: Test erroring on sound_effect_end_marker used alone
         Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
         And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
-        And I want to save the output in directory "output"
+        And I want to save the training output in directory "output"
         When I run the subaligner_train against them with the following options
             """
             -e 2 -nt lstm --sound_effect_end_marker ")"
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
     Scenario: Test hyperparameter tuning on the LSTM network
         Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
         And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
-        And I want to save the output in directory "output"
+        And I want to save the training output in directory "output"
         When I run the subaligner_tune against them with the following flags
             | epoch_per_trail   | trails    | network_type  |
             | 1                 | 2         | lstm          |
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
     Scenario: Test hyperparameter tuning on the Bidirectional LSTM network
         Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
         And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
-        And I want to save the output in directory "output"
+        And I want to save the training output in directory "output"
         When I run the subaligner_tune against them with the following flags
             | epoch_per_trail   | trails    | network_type  |
             | 2                 | 1         | bi_lstm       |
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ Feature: Subaligner CLI
     Scenario: Test hyperparameter tuning on the Conv1D network
         Given I have an audiovisual file directory "av"
         And I have a subtitle file directory "sub"
-        And I want to save the output in directory "output"
+        And I want to save the training output in directory "output"
         When I run the subaligner_tune against them with the following flags
             | epoch_per_trail   | trails    | network_type  |
             | 1                 | 2         | conv_1d       |
diff --git a/tests/integration/radish/step.py b/tests/integration/radish/step.py
index 0323987..d8df79a 100644
--- a/tests/integration/radish/step.py
+++ b/tests/integration/radish/step.py
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ def subtitle_dir(step, sub_dir):
     step.context.sub_dir = os.path.join(PWD, "..", "..", "subaligner", "resource", sub_dir)
 
 
-@given('I want to save the output in directory "{output_dir:S}"')
+@given('I want to save the training output in directory "{output_dir:S}"')
 def output_dir(step, output_dir):
     step.context.training_output = os.path.join(step.context.temp_dir, output_dir)
 
@@ -336,12 +336,36 @@ def run_subtitle_converter_with_translation(step, language_pair, output_subtitle
     step.context.exit_code = process.wait(timeout=WAIT_TIMEOUT_IN_SECONDS)
 
 
-@before.each_scenario(on_tags="train or hyperparameter-tuning")
+@given('I want to save the alignment output in directory "{aligned_dir:S}"')
+def aligned_dir(step, aligned_dir):
+    step.context.aligning_output = os.path.join(step.context.temp_dir, aligned_dir)
+
+
+@when('I run the subaligner_batch on them with {mode:S} stage')
+def run_subaligner_batch(step, mode):
+    process = subprocess.Popen([
+        os.path.join(PWD, "..", "..", "..", "bin", "subaligner_batch"),
+        "-m", mode,
+        "-vd", step.context.av_dir,
+        "-sd", step.context.sub_dir,
+        "-od", step.context.aligning_output,
+        "-q"], shell=False)
+    step.context.exit_code = process.wait(timeout=WAIT_TIMEOUT_IN_SECONDS)
+
+
+@then('a new subtitle file "{file_name:S}" is generated in the above output directory')
+def expect_result_in_aligning_output(step, file_name):
+    output_file_path = os.path.join(step.context.aligning_output, file_name)
+    assert step.context.exit_code == 0
+    assert os.path.isfile(output_file_path) is True
+
+
+@before.each_scenario(on_tags="train or hyperparameter-tuning or batch")
 def create_training_output_dir(scenario):
     scenario.context.temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
 
 
-@after.each_scenario(on_tags="train or hyperparameter-tuning")
+@after.each_scenario(on_tags="train or hyperparameter-tuning or batch")
 def remove_training_output_dir(scenario):
     if os.path.isdir(scenario.context.temp_dir):
         shutil.rmtree(scenario.context.temp_dir)
diff --git a/tests/subaligner/resource/sub/test.srt b/tests/subaligner/resource/sub/test.srt
index 6ed4b14..6eeafb8 100644
--- a/tests/subaligner/resource/sub/test.srt
+++ b/tests/subaligner/resource/sub/test.srt
@@ -56,849 +56,4 @@ that luck is rarely a lightning strike,
 
 15
 00:00:59,942 --> 00:01:01,696
-isolated and dramatic.
-
-16
-00:01:02,249 --> 00:01:04,635
-It's much more like the wind,
-
-17
-00:01:04,659 --> 00:01:06,225
-blowing constantly.
-
-18
-00:01:06,249 --> 00:01:07,818
-Sometimes it's calm,
-
-19
-00:01:07,842 --> 00:01:09,943
-and sometimes it blows in gusts,
-
-20
-00:01:09,967 --> 00:01:14,192
-and sometimes it comes from directions that you didn't even imagine.
-
-21
-00:01:14,216 --> 00:01:16,689
-So how do you catch the winds of luck?
-
-22
-00:01:17,616 --> 00:01:20,195
-It's easy, but it's not obvious.
-
-23
-00:01:20,665 --> 00:01:23,615
-So I'm going to share three things with you
-
-24
-00:01:23,639 --> 00:01:28,823
-that you can do to build a sail to capture the winds of luck.
-
-25
-00:01:29,651 --> 00:01:31,406
-The first thing you want to do
-
-26
-00:01:31,430 --> 00:01:33,935
-is to change your relationship with yourself.
-
-27
-00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,071
-Be willing to take small risks that get you out of your comfort zone.
-
-28
-00:01:38,095 --> 00:01:41,491
-Now, when we're children, we do this all the time.
-
-29
-00:01:42,459 --> 00:01:45,698
-We have to do this if we're going to learn how to walk or talk
-
-30
-00:01:45,722 --> 00:01:46,880
-or ride a bike
-
-31
-00:01:46,904 --> 00:01:48,848
-or even quantum mechanics. Right?
-
-32
-00:01:48,872 --> 00:01:51,796
-We need to go from someone one week who doesn't ride a bike
-
-33
-00:01:51,820 --> 00:01:53,603
-to, next week, someone who does.
-
-34
-00:01:53,627 --> 00:01:56,181
-And this requires us to get out of our comfort zone
-
-35
-00:01:56,205 --> 00:01:58,008
-and take some risks.
-
-36
-00:01:58,032 --> 00:02:00,151
-The problem is, as we get older,
-
-37
-00:02:00,175 --> 00:02:02,056
-we rarely do this.
-
-38
-00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,327
-We sort of lock down the sense of who we are
-
-39
-00:02:04,351 --> 00:02:06,149
-and don't stretch anymore.
-
-40
-00:02:06,173 --> 00:02:07,771
-Now, with my students,
-
-41
-00:02:07,795 --> 00:02:10,651
-I spend a lot of time giving them encouragement
-
-42
-00:02:10,675 --> 00:02:13,183
-to get out of their comfort zone and take some risks.
-
-43
-00:02:13,787 --> 00:02:14,952
-How do I do this?
-
-44
-00:02:14,976 --> 00:02:18,848
-Well, I start out by having them fill out a risk-o-meter.
-
-45
-00:02:18,872 --> 00:02:21,652
-Now, it's basically a fun thing we developed in our class
-
-46
-00:02:21,676 --> 00:02:24,706
-where they map out what risks they're willing to take.
-
-47
-00:02:24,730 --> 00:02:27,634
-And it becomes clear very quickly to them
-
-48
-00:02:27,658 --> 00:02:29,734
-that risk-taking is not binary.
-
-49
-00:02:30,242 --> 00:02:33,893
-There are intellectual risks and physical risks and financial risks
-
-50
-00:02:33,917 --> 00:02:37,905
-and emotional risks and social risks and ethical risks and political risks.
-
-51
-00:02:37,929 --> 00:02:41,714
-And once they do this, they compare their risk profiles with others,
-
-52
-00:02:41,738 --> 00:02:45,040
-and they quickly realize that they're all really different.
-
-53
-00:02:46,006 --> 00:02:48,562
-I then encourage them to stretch,
-
-54
-00:02:48,586 --> 00:02:51,475
-to take some risks that get them out of their comfort zone.
-
-55
-00:02:51,499 --> 00:02:54,854
-For example, I might ask them to do an intellectual risk
-
-56
-00:02:54,878 --> 00:02:57,942
-and try to tackle a problem they haven't tried before;
-
-57
-00:02:57,966 --> 00:03:02,465
-or a social risk, talking to someone sitting next to them on the train;
-
-58
-00:03:02,489 --> 00:03:04,220
-or an emotional risk,
-
-59
-00:03:04,244 --> 00:03:07,185
-maybe telling someone they really care about how they feel.
-
-60
-00:03:08,306 --> 00:03:10,751
-I do this myself all the time.
-
-61
-00:03:11,286 --> 00:03:13,691
-About a dozen years ago, I was on an airplane,
-
-62
-00:03:13,715 --> 00:03:16,476
-early, early morning flight on my way to Ecuador.
-
-63
-00:03:16,500 --> 00:03:22,222
-And normally, I would just put on my headphones
-
-64
-00:03:22,246 --> 00:03:24,177
-and go to sleep, wake up, do some work,
-
-65
-00:03:24,201 --> 00:03:25,960
-but I decided to take a little risk,
-
-66
-00:03:25,984 --> 00:03:28,842
-and I started a conversation with the man sitting next to me.
-
-67
-00:03:28,866 --> 00:03:32,073
-I introduced myself, and I learned that he was a publisher.
-
-68
-00:03:33,695 --> 00:03:34,856
-Interesting.
-
-69
-00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,128
-We ended up having a fascinating conversation.
-
-70
-00:03:37,152 --> 00:03:39,945
-I learned all about the future of the publishing industry.
-
-71
-00:03:39,969 --> 00:03:43,160
-So about three quarters of the way through the flight,
-
-72
-00:03:43,184 --> 00:03:44,965
-I decided to take another risk,
-
-73
-00:03:44,989 --> 00:03:48,949
-and I opened up my laptop and I shared with him a book proposal
-
-74
-00:03:48,973 --> 00:03:52,949
-I put together for something I was doing in my class.
-
-75
-00:03:52,973 --> 00:03:54,697
-And he was very polite, he read it,
-
-76
-00:03:54,721 --> 00:03:57,483
-and he said, "You know what, Tina, this isn't right for us,
-
-77
-00:03:57,507 --> 00:03:59,174
-but thank you so much for sharing."
-
-78
-00:03:59,198 --> 00:04:01,231
-It's OK. That risk didn't work out.
-
-79
-00:04:01,745 --> 00:04:03,021
-I shut my laptop.
-
-80
-00:04:03,045 --> 00:04:06,046
-At the end of the flight, we exchanged contact information.
-
-81
-00:04:07,594 --> 00:04:10,006
-A couple of months later, I reached out to him,
-
-82
-00:04:10,030 --> 00:04:12,672
-and I said, "Mark, would you like to come to my class?
-
-83
-00:04:12,696 --> 00:04:15,450
-I'm doing a project on reinventing the book,
-
-84
-00:04:15,474 --> 00:04:16,783
-the future of publishing."
-
-85
-00:04:16,807 --> 00:04:18,665
-And he said, "Great. I'd love to come."
-
-86
-00:04:18,689 --> 00:04:21,024
-So he came to my class. We had a great experience.
-
-87
-00:04:21,048 --> 00:04:23,147
-A few months later, I wrote to him again.
-
-88
-00:04:23,171 --> 00:04:25,837
-This time, I sent him a bunch of video clips
-
-89
-00:04:25,861 --> 00:04:28,099
-from another project my students had done.
-
-90
-00:04:28,948 --> 00:04:31,514
-He was so intrigued
-
-91
-00:04:31,538 --> 00:04:33,720
-by one of the projects the students had done,
-
-92
-00:04:33,744 --> 00:04:35,718
-he thought there might be a book in it,
-
-93
-00:04:35,742 --> 00:04:37,885
-and he wanted to meet those students.
-
-94
-00:04:38,224 --> 00:04:40,407
-I have to tell you, I was a little bit hurt.
-
-95
-00:04:41,456 --> 00:04:44,481
-I mean, he wanted to do a book with my students and not with me,
-
-96
-00:04:44,505 --> 00:04:45,656
-but OK, it's all right.
-
-97
-00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:49,187
-So I invited him to come down, and he and his colleagues came to Stanford
-
-98
-00:04:49,211 --> 00:04:52,655
-and met with the students, and afterwards, we had lunch together.
-
-99
-00:04:53,487 --> 00:04:55,283
-And one of his editors said to me,
-
-100
-00:04:55,307 --> 00:04:58,108
-"Hey, have you ever considered writing a book?"
-
-101
-00:04:58,918 --> 00:05:00,735
-I said, "Funny you should ask."
-
-102
-00:05:00,759 --> 00:05:03,854
-And I pulled out the exact same proposal
-
-103
-00:05:03,878 --> 00:05:07,242
-that I had showed his boss a year earlier.
-
-104
-00:05:07,266 --> 00:05:09,686
-Within two weeks, I had a contract,
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-and within two years, the book had sold over a million copies around the world.
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-Now, you might say,
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-"Oh, you're so lucky."
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-But of course I was lucky,
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-but that luck resulted from a series of small risks I took,
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-starting with saying hello.
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-And anyone can do this,
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-no matter where you are in your life,
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-no matter where you are in the world --
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-even if you think you're the most unlucky person,
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-you can do this by taking little risks that get you out of your comfort zone.
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-You start building a sail to capture luck.
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-The second thing you want to do
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-is to change your relationship with other people.
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-You need to understand that everyone who helps you on your journey
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-is playing a huge role in getting you to your goals.
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-And if you don't show appreciation,
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-not only are you not closing the loop,
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-but you're missing an opportunity.
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-When someone does something for you,
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-they're taking that time
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-that they could be spending on themselves or someone else,
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-and you need to acknowledge what they're doing.
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-Now, I run three fellowship programs at Stanford,
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-and they are very competitive to get into,
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-and when I send out the letters to those students who don't get in,
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-I always know there are going to be people who are disappointed.
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-Some of the people who are disappointed send me notes, complaining.
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-Some of them send notes
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-saying what could I do to make myself more successful next time around?
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-And every once in a while,
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-someone sends me a note thanking me for the opportunity.
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-This happened about seven years ago.
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-A young man named Brian sent me a beautiful note saying,
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-"I know I've been rejected from this program twice,
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-but I want to thank you for the opportunity.
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-I learned so much through the process of applying."
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-I was so taken by the graciousness of his message
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-that I invited him to come and meet me.
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-And we spent some time chatting and cooked up an idea
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-for an independent study project together.
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-He was on the football team at Stanford,
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-and he decided to do a project on looking at leadership in that context.
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-We got to know each other incredibly well through that quarter,
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-and he took the project that he started working on
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-in the independent study
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-and turned it, ultimately, into a company called Play for Tomorrow,
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-where he teaches kids from disadvantaged backgrounds
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-how to, essentially, craft the lives they dream to live.
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-Now, the important thing about this story
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-is that we both ended up catching the winds of luck
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-as a result of his thank-you note.
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-But it was the winds that we didn't expect in the first place.
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-Over the course of the last couple of years,
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-I've come up with some tactics for my own life
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-to help me really foster appreciation.
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-My favorite is that at the end of every single day,
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-I look at my calendar and I review all the people I met with,
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-and I send thank-you notes to every single person.
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-It only takes a few minutes,
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-but at the end of every day,
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-I feel incredibly grateful and appreciative,
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-and I promise you it has increased my luck.
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-So first, you need to take some risks and get out of your comfort zone.
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-Second, you need to show appreciation.
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-And third, you want to change your relationship with ideas.
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-Most people look at new ideas that come there way and they judge them.
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-"That's a great idea" or "That's a terrible idea."
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-But it's actually much more nuanced.
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-Ideas are neither good or bad.
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-And in fact, the seeds of terrible ideas are often something truly remarkable.
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-One of my favorite exercises in my classes on creativity
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-is to help students foster an attitude of looking at terrible ideas
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-through the lens of possibilities.
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-So I give them a challenge:
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-to create an idea for a brand new restaurant.
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-They have to come up with the best ideas for a new restaurant
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-and the worst ideas for a new restaurant.
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-So the best ideas are things like a restaurant on a mountaintop
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-with a beautiful sunset,
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-or a restaurant on a boat with a gorgeous view.
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-And the terrible ideas are things like a restaurant in a garbage dump,
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-or a restaurant with terrible service that's really dirty,
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-or a restaurant that serves cockroach sushi.
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-So they hand all the ideas to me,
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-I read the great ideas out loud,
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-and then I rip them up and throw them away.
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-I then take the horrible ideas and redistribute them.
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-Each team now has an idea that another team thought was horrible,
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-and their challenge is to turn it into something brilliant.
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-Here's what happens.
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-Within about 10 seconds, someone says, "This is a fabulous idea."
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-And they have about three minutes before they pitch the idea to the class.
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-So the restaurant in the garbage dump? What does that turn into?
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-Well, they collect all the extra food from Michelin star restaurants
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-that was going to get thrown out,
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-and they have another restaurant at a much lower price,
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-with all the leftovers.
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-Pretty cool?
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-Or the restaurant that's dirty with terrible service?
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-Well, that turns into a restaurant that's a training ground
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-for future restauranteurs to figure out how to avoid all the pitfalls.
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-And the restaurant with cockroach sushi?
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-It turns into a sushi bar
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-with all sorts of really interesting and exotic ingredients.
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-If you look around at the companies,
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-the ventures that are really innovative around you,
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-the ones that we now take for granted that have changed our life,
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-well, you know what?
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-They all started out as crazy ideas.
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-They started ideas that when they pitched to other people,
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-most people said, "That's crazy, it will never work."
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-So, yes, sometimes people were born into terrible circumstances,
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-and sometimes, luck is a lightning bolt
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-that hits us with something wonderful or something terrible.
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-But the winds of luck are always there,
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-and if you're willing to take some risks,
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-if you're willing to really go out and show appreciation
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-and willing to really look at ideas, even if they're crazy,
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-through the lens of possibilities,
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-(SOUND EFFECT)
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-(SOUND EFFECT)
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+isolated and dramatic.
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