9 Leadership Quotes and Lessons From Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

I love the Mission Impossible series.  They are absolutely fun, full of special effects and action, plenty of stuff blows up, basically implausible, and just plain entertaining.  The fourth installment of the Tom Cruise series, Ghost Protocol, is no exception.  With the dvd being released this Tuesday, I wanted to re-visit my thoughts on the film from several months ago.

The following are the leadership quotes and lessons you will discover as you watch the movie:

1. Leaders Are Incredibly Resourceful – Throughout the movie, the Cruise character Ethan Hunt is constantly taking advantage of anything available to him – clothes, flares, relationships, etc….  Leaders have the ability to be creative and maximize the resources available to them.
2. Leaders Effectively Utilize Technology – When faced with difficult challenges, the IMF team always utilized computers, cell phones, and other technologies to solve problems.  My absolute favorite was the windshield GPS system.  Leaders, are you effectively utilizing technology?  If not, like Hunt you may want to have people on your team who have the skill to serve you in this area.
3. Tension Is Good – The scene with Hunt climbing the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is absolutely edge-of-your-seat tense.  It made me realize that tension when properly leveraged creates memorable events and advances mission and vision.  Pastors and worship leaders, are you listening?
4. “A Potential Terrorist Is A Terrorist” – Leaders are always prepared for the future and plan for unforeseen events.
5. “These People Are Happy And Smiling But They Were Almost Vaporized.” – As a Christian this statement resonated with me.  There is a spiritual battle going on we often do not want to recognize or think about.  We have guardian angels taking care of us.  We avoid car wrecks, disasters, danger, and things we will never know about this side of Heaven only because we are being protected by forces we cannot see.  We go through life “happy and smiling” while Satan and his demons want us “vaporized”.
6. “The Only Thing That Worked Was This Team.” – As Hunt was thanking his team at the end of the movie, he made this statement.  They were disavowed, did not have proper resources, and encountered multiple unforeseen challenges.  But the greatest resource any organization has is its people.  People are also the only asset that appreciates.
7. “It’s Not Your Job To Protect Her.  It’s Mine.” – Throughout the movie, Jeremy Renner’s character Brandt felt a deep ownership for the protection of Hunt’s wife.  Hunt reminded him that the protection of his wife was his, not Brandt’s.  Husbands and fathers, we cannot delegate the responsibility of our families.  We cannot passively assign that to school systems, churches, the government, or other institutions.  They are there to assist us but we own the result of their protection and nurture.
8. Results Over Excuses – In the four movies, I have never seen Hunt complain about an assignment.  No matter how difficult the task, Hunt always builds a team and finds a way to get the job done.  Leaders produce positive results.
9. “As Long As She’s With Me She Will Always Be In Danger” – So goes the leader, so goes the people.  Those under a blessed leader will be blessed.  On the contrary, those under terrible leadership will unfortunately suffer unnecessary hardships.

Leaders, what other leadership quotes and lessons did you discover in the movie?

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