I attended a 1:30 PM opening-day matinee showing of the latest monsterverse film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. From a leadership perspective, my objective was to gain some wisdom from an usual source about how two adversaries could join up for a common goal.
It took some effort (more on that later) but I was able to glean some insights that if implemented, could take your leadership to an entirely different level.
5 Leadership Lessons from Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire About Forging Alliances With Those You Don’t Trust To Achieve A Common Goal
Focus On What Unites You More Than What Divides You
For the uninitiated, HollowEarth is the world at the center of the Earth’s core. This is Kong’s domain. The surface level where you and I live is where Godzilla reigns. Neither goes into the other’s territory. This is how they maintain peace.
The movie’s protagonists are an evil giant ape and a Godzilla-like animal who breaths ice instead of fire. Their objective is not to maintain peace. It is to destroy HollowEarth and then come to the Earth’s surface and destroy all of humankind. In other words, total global domination.
Kong and Godzilla would eventually have to form a truce and unite forces to thwart this challenge.
Give 80% Effort And Energy To The 80% You Agree, Not What You Disagree On
The large majority of people agree on 80% of things. We all want a happy life, to earn a good living, raise happy and healthy children, and have great relationships with people we love and who love us. It is the 20% that gets us in trouble.
One of the major problems in our society is we give 80% of our energy to the 20% we disagree on, and only 20% of our energy to the 80% we agree on. Instead, we should be giving 80% of our energy to the 80% we agree on.
By doing so, we will build more bridges with those we seemingly disagree with, see much greater progress, and our influence increased.
Understand The Value You Bring To The Partnership
There is great power in partnership.
The reason Kong and Godzilla ultimately united forces is because they needed each other. The size of the problem mandated a merger. Can you relate?
Next, Kong brought size, speed, combat skills, and a very powerful ax to the partnership. Godzilla also brought size, speed, and combat skills. In addition, he brought the ability to breath nuclear-powered fire. Together, they were a very good team.
Someone Must Go FIRST
This is the most important lesson of all. To form an alliance with someone you don’t trust to accomplish a common goal, someone must take the first step. Someone must extend a hand, “reach across the aisle”, and say, “I need your help.”
At his own personal risk, Kong came to the surface to seek Godzilla’s help. Without it, Kong’s entire dominion would cease to exist.
Therefore, he came to Godzilla’s domain in an attempt to get his help. If you watch the film you will see Kong paid a high price to do so.
Have A Mediator
Godzilla would have ultimately killed Kong if not for Mothra who mediated an alliance. I am not smart enough to know how but Mothra spoke to both combatants about what was in their mutual best interests. It clearly takes a monster to communicate to other monsters. Mothra was able to calm Godzilla down and help “negotiate a cease fire” so the two would unite forces.
BONUS – Know Your Audience and Speak To Them
I want to point out I was one of four people in the theater and it did not take long to learn why. The makers of this film did not have me in mind when they made it, and that is potentially fine. I am not their audience. A film with unlikeable characters and gigantic prehistoric monsters living beneath the Earth’s surface and destroy entire cities causing trillions of dollars of damage and killing countless people with no concern, is just no longer for me. But Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was not made for me but rather another segment of the market.
It is important for leaders to properly know your audience, and speak directly to them.
Conclusion
To form an alliance with someone you don’t trust to accomplish a common goal, do the following:
- Focus on what unites you over what divides you.
- Understand the value you bring to the partnership.
- Give 80% effort to the 80% you agree upon.
- Go FIRST.
- Have a mediator.
If you do these things, you will accomplish more together than you can alone.
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