Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Wrath Of Man

A Reel Leadership Article

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Wrath Of Man is the 2021 revenge-thriller starring action star Jason Statham. His character, H, is on a mission. He signs up to be a security guard for a company that transports money. The job choice wasn’t by accident. He is looking for the men responsible for killing his son, Dougie (Eli Brown).

Jason Statham in Wrath Of Man

Wrath Of Man shows how what happens when a man seeks revenge. He becomes dangerous and unhinged. He goes for the jugular and doesn’t stop until he finds the men responsible.

You’ll get a wild ride with Wrath Of Man. More than that, you will also find leadership lessons in Wrath Of Man.

Strap in. Hold on. Get ready to learn.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Wrath Of Man

1. You can misdiagnose a problem:

Charlie was one of the security guards for the cash moving company H would sign onto. Charlie and his partner, an unnamed security guard, were closing the doors to the security truck they would be using.

The door squeaked. Charlie said they needed to grease the hinges. The unnamed security guard knew better. The issue wasn’t with a lack of grease. The real issue was that the hinges needed to be repaired or replaced.

We can look at an issue. See a surface-level problem. Then make a snap judgment. We think we know the answer to the problem.

The reality is, we can gloss over the real issue. We can see something and make an assumption and begin working to solve the problem we think we see.

In the end, we don’t solve the problem. It still exists and we’re left scratching our heads.

When you see a problem, make sure you’re giving the correct diagnosis. If you don’t, you won’t fix the problem.

2. Great leaders diversify their customers:

The company H would work for is called Fortico. They built up a great business of transporting cash for their business clients.

Fortico was wise in the way they built their business. They didn’t stick to one type of business.

No…

Instead, Fortico diversified its portfolio of customers. They had businesses of all kinds including retail, banks, dispensaries, and more. If one section of customers was bad, they had more than enough other clients to make up for the lack.

What does your business look like? Is your organization diversified?

Great leaders know their organization cannot thrive on one customer type or business. These leaders look for ways to make sure their organization is covered in case business goes south in one sector.

Make sure you’re diversifying your organization. It could be customers in different markets or it could be creating different kinds of products.

Diversify, diversify, diversify.

3. Bullet (Holt McCallany):

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new addition!

Bullet was a coworker of H. He was someone the rest of the crews looked up to.

When H was hired, Bullet introduced him to the locker room. He let everyone know there was someone new on the team.

This is a great practice. When you hire someone new, make sure you’re introducing them to the whole team.

Doing so will help the new team member feel like a valuable member of the team. Not only that, but it will also help your current team know there’s someone new to the team.

4. You will have freak out moments:

H, Bullet, and Dave (Josh Hartnett) were transporting cash for Fortico. During their transport, they were hit by robbers.

Dave begins to freak out. He cannot stay calm. He wants to jet and follow procedures.

H helps him. He encourages him to break protocols and do what it takes to protect Bullet.

Yo! It seems crazy but freak-out moments happen. You won’t know what to do or how to do things or you may have to break the rules.

These freak-out moments happen.

What you cannot do is let these freak-out moments control your actions. Recognize them as they happen. Then control yourself.

5. Boss Blake Halls (Rob Delaney):

The crew is inspired…

Blake saw what H was doing. He knew H’s actions were reckless and could be dangerous. However, he also saw H’s actions inspiring the rest of the Fortico crew.

Because of this, Blake wasn’t willing to stop H from destroying the criminals trying to rob the cash trucks. He wanted H to continue so the team would be inspired.

While Blake wanted H to continue taking action so he could benefit, there’s a reason to let those who are good at their job do what they do. When you have all-stars who do amazing things on your team, they will inspire the other team members.

Encourage the break-out stars to do their best. Their best will inspire the rest.

6. Agent King (Andy Garcia):

Let the painter paint.

Agent King is a high-up law enforcement agent. He sees what H is doing. He could discourage what H is doing but he doesn’t.

Agent King sees something in H. H is an artist. He is painting. He is taking care of business that the police officers could not.

Who on your team can be a good version of H? Who can do the things other team members cannot and do them well?

You have people around you that can do extremely great work… If you let them.

Stop holding people back because you don’t want to be shown up. As Agent King said: Let the painter paint.

7. We can bring on our own troubles:

The viewer discovers H’s motivations in taking down the cash truck robbers. H was a criminal involved in robberies. In one instance, he tried to protest intervening and being a part of one. He relents.

H goes to the scene of the crime. He brings his son, Dougie, with him. While scoping out the cash truck’s route, he picks up food for him and his son. He relays the truck’s route and then all hell breaks loose.

Another crew jacks the truck. They kill the two drivers. They then kill Dougie.

H brought on his own troubles. If he wasn’t involved with criminal activity, Dougie would not have died.

We can bemoan our station in life. We can play the victim. The truth be told, we typically bring our own troubles.

Look back on your career. The things that went wrong, what happened? Was it the fault of someone else? Or, was it your fault?

More than likely, we can see our actions have been the cause of our troubles. Let’s use this insight to make better decisions.

8. Unknown:

Boredom is more dangerous than bullets.

One of Jackson’s (Jeffrey Donovan) crew members utters this great line. While some may find it cheesy, this crew member isn’t wrong.

We’re most dangerous when we’re bored. It reminds me of the old saying “Idle hands are the playthings of the devil.”

We get antsy when we’re bored. We begin to look for action. And, if we’re not careful, we do things we shouldn’t do.

Make sure you’re not finding yourself constantly bored. If you do, you may find yourself going the wrong direction.

9. Money isn’t worth dying for or losing your family over:

Terry (Eddie Marsan) was one of Jackson’s crew members. He saw an issue. They kept going after more money.

What happens when they get more money? They go again.

Terry wasn’t wanting more money. He wanted something else and realized it.

What are you chasing after? Is it money?

Know that more money won’t solve your problems. It’s not worth giving up your life. It’s not worth giving up your family.

Find out what the real problem is. Deal with it. It’s not money.

10. Wrath is dangerous:

H’s character was a man of wrath. He was a one-man army going after the people who wronged him.

His wrath took the lives of multiple people. He didn’t care. He kept moving forward.

The wrath H displayed was dangerous.

Wrath in a leader is dangerous too.

We have to be careful that we don’t find ourselves wrapped up in wrath. We cannot lead from a position of wrath. It will only lead us down a destructive path.

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