Drop hit the theaters in early 2025. The film was a joint collaboration between Universal Pictures and Blumhouse. And it was interesting.
The premise, especially in these times, seemed timely.
Drop tells the story of Violet (Meghann Fahy). Violet is a widow about to embark on his first date in years. And it’s a blind date.
Ohhhhh….
But the date goes horribly wrong. Soon after arriving at the restaurant, Violet is inundated with messages from the digiDROP app, think Apple’s AirDrop. It’s an app where users can send a photo or message to those within a 50-foot radius.
The messages become increasingly more hostile to the point that Violet is told to kill her date, Henry (Brandon Sklenar). She is hesitant to do so. Who wouldn’t?!?
Most of the story takes place within the confines of the restaurant. And it’s a tense, edge-of-your-seat thriller that offers some amazing leadership lessons. Let’s explore Drop for those lessons!
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Drop
1. Violet:
When you say that you’re worthless, who does that sound like?
Violet is a victim of domestic abuse. Her husband had assaulted her, threatened to kill her and their child, and then killed himself. It was brutal. Now, Violet is helping other victims break free from the chains holding them down.
In an online conversation, Violet is talking to a domestic assault victim. The victim has told Violet she feels she is worthless. Violet wasn’t going to have any of that.
Violet confronted the victim with a powerful, pointed question: Who do you sound like when you say that you’re worthless?
Many of us have been brought low by former leaders, loved ones, and former friends. They’ve said something negative that we’ve held onto for far too long.
The next time you hear yourself telling yourself:
- I’m not good enough to lead
- Why would someone follow me?
- I’ve failed too many times
- I’ll mess up again
Ask yourself: who do I sound like? Is it the voice of someone who has talked down to you in the past? Is it someone who has helped lift you up?
Make sure you’re speaking positive affirmations to yourself.
2. Jen (Violett Beane):
They’re not all Blake (Michael Shea)
Blake is Violet’s abusive husband. He messed her up real bad. Jen is Violet’s loving sister.
As Violet is getting ready for her date, she has Jen come over to watch her son, Toby (Jacob Robinson). More than that, Jen was willing to offer Violet some advice, as Violet was nervous.
Jen told Violet that not all men are like Blake. There are good men out there.
I see this quote playing out well in leadership. Especially when you have a bad team member who’s affecting your organization.
You have to move forward. You can’t keep thinking about the bad employee. What you must do is realize that not every employee is a bad employee.
I’ve heard leaders in meetings talk about their employees as if they’re all the same. The one that screwed up is how they all are.
They’re not. We need to lead in a way that demonstrates our understanding of this knowledge.
3. Take the hint:
Violet goes to the restaurant to meet Henry. She’s early and Henry is running late. She decides to take a seat at the bar.
Phil (Ed Weeks) is a bar musician. He’s cranking out tunes to keep the vibe of the restaurant chill. He sees Violet sitting at the bar and makes his move.
He begins to hit on Violet. He asks her what song he can play for her. She tells him nothing. She doesn’t need to play her a song. Eventually, Violet relents and tells him to play Baby Shark (it wouldn’t be so bad if it were this version of Baby Shark).
Violet was trying to get Phil to leave her alone. He wouldn’t take the hint. Even the bartender notices Violet’s discomfort.
We’re leading a lot of people. And everyone wants to be interacted with differently.
We have to pay attention to their body language. The way they’re physically reacting to us.
The more we pay attention, the more we can understand the hints they’re throwing at us. We may make them uncomfortable, frustrated, etc.. Pay attention and respect how they’re feeling.
4. Share kindness:
Henry finally arrived and met Violet. He let her know that he had a gift. Not for her but for her son, Toby.
The gift was a thoughtful one. Henry had brought a hockey puck from the local team.
It was kind, gentle, and thoughtful.
Guess what?!? Leaders need to be kind, gentle, and thoughtful. Most importantly, kindness in leadership is important.
Kindness isn’t a ticket for employees to walk all over you. No, it’s an invitation for you to treat people fairly and with respect. You still have to correct inappropriate behaviors.
5. Scope out the room:
Violet tells Henry she’s been receiving digiDROPs from someone. Henry told her it could be anyone in the room. He also noted he receives drops all the time while he’s riding the train.
As the messages continue, Henry encourages Violet to help him scope out the room. They could figure out how far 50 feet was from their location. This would narrow down the perpetrator.
The pair begins to process each person in the room. Were they a danger? A threat? Docile?
Whenever you enter a room, it’s a wise idea to take a moment to scope out the room. Examine who’s in the room.
Are there high rollers in the room? Is someone being ignored? Who should you meet?
The more you know about the room and the people in it, the better you can gauge who you’ll be interacting with.
6. Make the ask:
Violet becomes increasingly uncomfortable in the restaurant. The digiDROP has revealed there’s a threat at her home. So, Violet tells Henry she’s afraid of heights. This would allow them to get away from the window and into a better position.
Henry says this will be easy. He approaches their waiter, Matt (Jeffery Self). And it was. After a simple ask, Matt was able to move them to a new table, which they had to decline due to the villain threatening Toby.
How comfortable are you with making the ask? The ask could be as simple as asking someone to do something or as complicated as asking for an increase in wages.
Whatever it is, making the ask is a lot easier than we make it out to be. Most of the time, the worst thing someone can say is no. The best thing is yes. And there’s always the compromise answer.
Don’t be afraid to make the ask. If you do, you’ll have a better chance of getting what you need.
7. Find what fits your experience:
Henry and Violet discuss their careers. It turns out that Henry works for the mayor. He takes photographs and more.
Violet is a domestic abuse support. She helps those in domestic abuse situations break free.
When Henry asked Violet why she was in that line of work, her answer was simple. Violet did what she did because of her experience with domestic abuse.
We all have unique experiences. I glean from my time ice climbing, running, watching movies, and more. These experiences make me who I am and help shape my world.
What experiences do you have? How can you use those experiences to shape your career?
Look at it. Examine it. Find what fits your experience.
8. Henry:
A version they believe other people want to see…
Violet had left the table. When she returned, Henry had found Violet’s missing watch. Where was it? In her purse.
Henry was frustrated. But he was still willing to talk to her. Violet asks him why he picked her profile. His answer was profound.
He was ready to delete the dating app. Everyone on there was looking to promote an image of themselves that they believed others wanted to see. That wasn’t Violet. Her profile came across as genuine.
We become ineffective leaders when we stop leading with authenticity. When we start leading by trying to portray what we believe others want to see.
Do you know what your team really wants? The authentic you. They want the real version, not the version you think they want.
Lead with authenticity.
9. Little clues lead to major breakthroughs:
Henry and Violet couldn’t figure out what was doing the drops. The case wasn’t broken open until Violet talked with Cara (Gabrielle Ryan), the bartender.
In their discussion, Cara thought Violet was uncomfortable because of Henry. Violet assured Cara it wasn’t Henry. This is when Cara dropped the bomb that exposed who was behind the drops.
Cara said there was a man who had been staring at her all night. That man? Phil. And he was the villain.
Listen to the little clues around you. People are saying things, sharing things that could be hints to the big breakthrough.
Be willing to hear what’s being said. The more you listen, the more you hear. The more you hear, the more information you possess. That information can be the key to success.
10. You’re not as smart as you think you are:
Violet confronted Phil. He told her that he was playing a game of chess with her. He believed Violet was playing Yahtzee.
Violet wasn’t. She was playing the game at a much higher level than Phil believed.
So much so that she had tricked him into thinking she had poisoned Henry. In fact, she had poisoned Phil’s dessert.
Guess she played the better game. She turned out to be smarter than Phil.
Because of the way we rise up the ranks of our organization, we can find ourselves believing we’re the smartest. We’ve played the more difficult game.
That doesn’t make you smarter than someone. It means you moved up.
Don’t let arrogance be your downfall. You’re not as smart as you think you are. There are other smart people in the room. Listen to them.
