Ant Man is BIG TIME!!!  The latest Marvel movie follows in the footsteps of Guardians Of The Galaxy and Avengers 2: The Age Of Ultron.  It is simply is big budget, action-filled, humorous, fun movie.

At its core, Ant Man is a father-daughter movie.  In the midst of the expected big action scenes, explosions and digital extravaganza is the story of two fathers, Scott Lang (Ant Man) played by Paul Rudd and Dr. Hank Pym played by Michael Douglas, desperately attempting to win the respect of their daughters.

This is a fun movie.  Go watch it and have a great time.

The following are 17 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Ant Man The Movie:

  1. Failure Is Never Final – In the movie’s opening flashback scene, Howard Stark tells a young Dr. Pym, “Don’t let you past determine your future”
  2. The Power Of Research And Development – Much of the work done by Darren Cross, played by Corey Stoll, is done in a location called the Futures Lab.  Smart leaders invest significant time, energy and resources into trying new things.  A Futures Lab is where is it is acceptable to experiment and fail.  Because it is in failure you will discover things which change the world.  Churches desperately need their own Futures Lab.
  3. Leadership Is Always Temporary – So steward it well.  Stoll ungratefully tells his mentor Dr. Pym, “You’re the past.  I’m the future.”
  4. Successful Fathers Are Not Passive – They are engaged and press into issues.  Maggie Lange, Scott’s ex-wife played by Judy Greer, says, “You’re her hero Scott.  Just be the person she already thinks you are.”
  5. Successful Fathers Are Persistent – They do not leave their families or quit.  Dr. Pym tells Lang, “The moment things get hard you turn right back to crime.”
  6. Humor Is Your Friend – There are many parts of Ant Man which are laugh-out-loud funny.  Use humor when communicating with those you lead.  It is disarming, attractive and makes you more accessible as a leader.
  7. Good Leaders Enable Their Teams To Achieve Their Full Potential – No matter how talented a team is, they get better with quality leadership.  Dr. Pym’s daughter, Hope Van Dyne played by Evangeline Lilly, tells Lang, “Ants can do a lot of things but they need a leader.”
  8. Effective Leaders Take Advantage Of Their Tools And Resources – The Ant Man suit allowed Lang to do incredible things.  But initially, Van Dyne told Lang, “The suit has power, and you have to learn how to control it.”
  9. A Leader’s Team Is His/Her Greatest Asset – The only appreciable asset in your organization is people.  For Lang, it was ants.  Van Dyne went on, “These are your greatest allies.”
  10. Hire Only The Best People – They will do nothing but make your overall product better.  Actors in popcorn movies usually do not win Academy Awards.  But Michael Pena’s portrayal of the fast-talking criminal Luis is as good as it gets.
  11. Great Leaders Cast Great Vision – Dr. Pym told Lang, “It’s not about saving your world, it’s about saving theirs.”
  12. Great Leaders Provide Clear Direction – During the same conversation Dr. Pym added, “I need you to become the Ant Man.”
  13. Successful Leaders Have Spent Countless Hours Honing Their Craft –  Only after countless hours of practice and hard work can someone make a task or assignment look easy.  Lang had to do an exercise where he jumped through a key hole in the Ant Man suit.  It took numerous tries for him to be successful.
  14. Successful Leaders See The Big Picture – After a heated argument between Dr. Pym and his daughter, Lang comforted her by saying, “He’d rather lose this fight than lose you.”
  15. Intuitive Leaders Not Only Sense Opportunity But Seize It – Unexpectedly, rather than breaking into an abandoned warehouse, Lang was breaking into the new Avengers headquarters.  Rather than turning back, he pressed forward.
  16. Smart Leaders Have A Sense Of Timing – In the movie’s funniest moment, Lang interrupted a poignant moment between Dr. Pym and his daughter.  His response was, “Did I ruin the moment?  Yes.  I’m going to make some tea.”
  17. Credibility Follows Success – Talk is cheap.  Lang only received respect from his entire family AFTER he defeated Yellow Jacket.

Once again, go see Ant Man and have a great time.  And I cannot wait for the next Marvel film, Captain America 3: Civil War coming out next spring.

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