15 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From San Andreas

15 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From San Andreas

 

San Andreas is why I love summer movies.  It is a disaster movie whose only objective is to entertain you for two hours.  It has a BIG star (The Rock Dwayne Johnson) and BIG action scenes.  The movie is not trying to win an Academy Award or overwhelm you with great acting.  It simply wants to entertain you.  And because of this, I loved the movie.
Johnson plays Ray who works for California Fire And Rescue.  When a massive earthquake hits the West Coast, Johnson puts all his skills to work in order to save his estranged wife Emma, played by Carla Gugino, and daughter Blake, played by Alexandra Daddario.
The following are 15 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From San Andreas:

1. You Never Have To Recover From A Good Start – Avoid slow starts whenever possible.  Slow starts force you to play catch-up and dig out of holes.  The movie got off to a great start with an opening scene involving the rescue of a girl dangling off a cliff after an intense car crash.
2. Great Leaders Paid The Price Of Preparation – Many leaders want to short circuit the training process.  They want what others have without having to paid the price they paid to get there.  Ray was effective at his job because he had spent years working on his craft.  For more on the costs leaders must be willing to pay, click 12 Costs All Leaders Must Be Willing To Pay For Success.
3. Great Leaders Are Decisive – Indecisive leadership kills momentum.  It causes projects to stall.  Leaders who are indecisive lose influence.  People do not trust indecisive leaders.  Worse yet, depending on your job, indecisiveness can cost someone their life.
4. Great Leaders Take Calculated Risks – Ray had to do a helicopter move called “Tip The Hat” in order to save a young girl’s life.
5. Great Leaders Are Detail-Oriented – Small things make a huge impact.  Ray noticed when a co-worker’s shoes were untied.
6. Poor Leaders Put Their Careers Ahead Of Their Family – Emma’s boyfriend Daniel Riddick, an architect, explained why he never had children, “I never had kids because I was so busy raising these (buildings).”
7. Leaders Either Wash Hands Or Wash Feet – In other words, leaders either serve others or serve themselves.  Riddick cowardly ran from Blake when the earthquake began while Ray, her father, ran towards her.
8. Stay Calm During Times Of Crisis – It has been said to not show you are panicking during crisis situations.  The key is to actually not panic in the first place.  Nothing good every comes from panic.
9. Listen To Experts – Everyone ignored the seismologists until the earthquakes began.  Successful people listen to the experts BEFORE the earthquake comes.
10. Smart Leaders Know Their Own Limitations As Well As The Limitations Of Others – Emma told Ray, “If you couldn’t save our daughter, no one could.”
11. Leaders Are Singularly Focused – The attention of successful leaders is never bifurcated.  It is singularly focused.  Emma said, “Let’s go get our daughter.”
12. People Trust Great Leaders During Times Of Crisis – When Blake was looking for a place to be rescued, she went against the conventional wisdom of others and said, “My dad said to get to higher ground so that’s what we’re doing.”  For more on leading during crisis situations, click 11 Keys To Successfully Leading Through Crisis Situations
13. Great Leaders Creatively Find Solutions – One of my favorite scenes was when Ray and Emma had to unexpectedly abandon their plane and parachute into a baseball stadium.
14. Great Leaders Bring Stability And Security To Others – Ray told a group of frightened individuals to “Get up against something sturdy.  Protect yourself.”
15. Great Leaders Are Always Looking Forward – Leaders are always advancing, always moving forward.  Looking at a decimated San Francisco, Ray concluded the movie by saying, “Now we rebuild.”

What other leadership lessons did you take from the moving?