I am excited to be a part of a summer 2015 Leadership Lessons from the Movies series along with a number of other bloggers and podcasters I consider friends.
It’s called REEL Leadership. Pretty clever, right? Each of us in the group has agreed to view one of the summer’s big blockbuster films and extract some of our favorite leadership takeaways.
They were kind enough to invite me to view the film Jurassic World. Below, you’ll find some of my leadership takeaways after seeing it last Friday at my local theater.
Below, I’m linking here to the films included in the series thus far, and will update this post as more blog posts and podcast episodes are added throughout the summer.
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Some of the films to be included in the series are:
San Andreas
Jurassic World (the page you’re on right now)
Inside Out
Terminator: Genisys
Minions
Ant-Man
Pan
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Fantastic Four
I’ll update the list above with the appropriate links as each one releases. Bookmark this page to come back to it easily.
Below, I expound on Five Leadership Lessons from Jurassic Park. Feel free to share your feedback in the comments.
1. Your Customers Want to Be Wowed
You need to ask yourself if you’re creating experiences for them they can’t help but share with their friends? If you can’t definitely say yes in response to that question then you need to take a close, hard look at what you’re doing.
To successfully wow your customers, you have to be willing to continually iterate and improve. In other words, never rest on your laurels.
2. Sometimes You Just Have to Jump
This lesson is directly related to Leadership Lesson #1 above. While wowing your customers is certainly a good thing, sometimes perfectionism can sneak in especially when launching something new. When it does, that can lead often lead to procrastination.
If you’re working on a new project, be willing to ask yourself some tough questions. Yes, you want to wow your customers. But are your attempts at making it perfect really just an excuse not to launch? Make no mistake. It’s tough.
Occasionally, it’s necessary to ship something you may feel is not quite ready for prime time. LinkedIn founder Reed Hastings is noted for saying that if, six months after a launch you look back and aren’t a little embarrassed by it, you probably waited to long to put it out there.
3. Stay Calm
No matter how crazy things get – an irate customer publishes their dissatisfaction on social media, a key vendor goes belly up and you have to start at square one, a newly-created hybrid dinosaur is on the loose in your park – it’s important to keep your wits about you.
And, if you’re in a leadership role, it’s safe to say others will be looking to you to set the example. Maintaining your composure as best you can is key. In the film, Owen Grady, played by Chris Pratt, is one cool cucumber and the epitome of this leadership lesson.
4. The Machine Should Hum Without You (aka Raptor’s Gotta New Alpha!)
As hard as it may be to hear, when it comes to our jobs, nearly all of us are replaceable. But I don’t necessarily believe we need to think of this as a bad thing. In fact, I think one mark of a great leader is someone who has designed a system and a company that works just fine when they’re not there.
While popular thinking might suggest that you design your job and your role in such a way that certain aspects of the company just can’t function without you, I argue that that is the ultimate recipe for disaster. The more willing your are to surround yourself with the right people – people that can do those things you’ve actually hired them to do – and keep the company going strong when you’re not there, the better off the company, and your career, will be.
This lesson reminds me of one of my favorite leadership books from former guest Liz Wiseman called Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. Hire the right people and don’t be afraid to leverage the collective brainpower of the room. When you do, they’ll be equipped to run things smoothly and efficiently, even when you’re not there.
In that scenario, everybody wins!
1. Relationships Trump Everything
As a full-time podcast coach and mentor, I’m often sought out for advice. “How did you get iTunes to add your show to one of their featured collections?” “How were you able to convince the folks at the Stitcher app to feature your show on the front page of their app?” “What was the key to launching a successful online course?”
In nearly every instance, the answer comes down to one simple thing.
Relationships.
For example, if you often struggle to find the motivation to reach your goals, or maybe you even struggle with enough motivation to set goals in the first place, the answer to all your ills, I argue, is relationships. Something as relatively simple as surrounding yourself with people who have similar goals and aspirations will pay huge dividends.
This can take the form of something like a mastermind group, where you’re meeting with several people on a regular basis. Or, it can be as simple is you finding one other person to whom you’re comfortable being held accountable.
In summary, I consider the act of being intentional with who I spend my time with to be the single biggest factor for any success I’ve experienced over the last two years. How about you?
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