It’s hard to fathom that the Tron movie series has continued to move forward. The first Tron film was released in 1982. The second film, Tron: Legacy, was released 28 years later in 2010. Now, 15 years after the sequel, a third film has been released: Tron: Ares.
I found Tron: Ares to be a fun, engaging movie. The visuals were spectacular. The soundtrack was great —not Daft Punk Tron: Legacy good, but still good. I found myself interested in the story, and Jared Leto’s portrayal of Ares was refreshing compared to some of his previous roles. And they even snuck in a Gary Vaynerchuk appearance!
So, what is Tron: Ares about? In the film, we get the answer to the question: What would happen if the digital world stepped into the physical world? A sophisticated program, Ares, is sent into the real world to do the dirty work of Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters). However, he begins to question his master. He decides that his mission is wrong.
Follow along as we walk through Tron: Ares and look at the leadership lessons found in the movie.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Tron: Ares
1. Great leaders dream big:
The film opens with Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) on a television screen. He waxes poetic about life inside computers. How wonderful it would or could be.
Then, he poses an even bigger question…
What if the digital world crossed over into our world? It had to happen at some point. That’s where technological advances were moving.
Flynn had big ideas. He pondered the impossible.
When’s the last time you thought about the possibilities of your organization? Of where it could go? What it could do?
Great leaders dream big. They see the possibility where others just can’t.
2. Ares:
Who am I?
Ares is wondering who he is. He asks the creator this question.
The creator tells Ares who he is… Master control. Defender of the grid.
Your people may be wondering who they are. They’ve struggled to find themselves. They’ve struggled to find a home.
The people you lead may ask you who they are. Answer them well. Tell them they are good, valuable, contributors.
3. Leave something for others:
Eve Kim (Greta Lee) is the CEO of ENCOM. ENCOM is a massive technology corporation in the world of Tron. But that doesn’t satisfy Eve.
She’s been struggling since the death of her sister, Tess (Selene Yun). She longs for that connection she once had. That’s long gone so she embarks on another mission…
Eve must find the Permanence Code. It’s a code that Flynn had hidden but could keep the digital world in the real world. In Eve’s search for the Permanence Code, she finds a remote hideaway in Alaska. There are tons of Flynn’s notes and old computers.
On one of those computers is a message from Tess. Tess says she may be gone but she’s still with her. There are things she’s left behind for her.
Great leaders don’t hoard for themselves. Instead, they look to build a better world. A world in which there are little crumbs of their life strewn about.
Why? Because it’s a legacy. Great leaders leave something for others to follow and remember them by.
4. Bad leaders see others as expendable:
Julian said if Ares were to fall on the battlefield, it wouldn’t be a big deal. He’d spin up a new build of the warrior.
Ares would be expendable.
That’s all Julian saw the programs come to the world. Something he could build over and over again.
You know better than this. People are not expendable. They’re not replaceable.
You must treat your team members as valuable contributors.
5. Great leaders care for others:
Julian sent Ares and his fellow programs, Athena (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Caius (Cameron Monaghan), to sabotage Eve’s program release. They were to hack the system and cause havoc.
They did that. But Caius was injured.
Ares went to help Caius. Athena told him to leave their injured comrade. Ares couldn’t help but go back.
When your people are hurting, what do you do? Do you leave them to suffer? Do you offer your help? Do you turn your back?
The way a leader responds to their team members’ needs says a lot about them.
6. Elisabeth Dillinger (Gillian Anderson):
You think you’re in control of this? You’re not.
Elisabeth is Julian’s mother. The two of them are chatting after Julian attempted to kidnap and kill Eve.
Julian has this air of confidence, of swagger. He thinks he’s in total control of the programs.
Elisabeth knows better. She knows how the world works. Her son was not in control.
He finds this out when Athena kills his mother later in the film.
Leaders have to be cautious about how they think of themselves. Do you think you’re the be-all, end-all? Do you think you control what happens?
There’s a good chance you’re not in control as much as you think you are. Be okay with that.
Control what you can. Give up what you can’t.
7. Ares:
Now I understand…
Eve was going to hand over the Permanence Code to the world. Then, she was going to hand over the reins of ENCOM.
Why?
Because Eve felt she had completed the work of her sister. She found the code. She made a difference.
Ares watched this unfold. As Eve’s empathy and kindness were displayed throughout the movie, Ares began to understand there’s more to life than he was led to believe.
Eve’s actions had changed Ares’ mind.
Your actions have an impact. The more you do the right thing, the more people watch you. The more people watch you do the right thing, the more you change hearts and minds.
Lead with empathy. It’ll impact people more than anything else.
8. Our directives can have unintended consequences:
Julian had made a grave mistake in telling Athena to take out Eve at any cost. He never would have imagined the cost he would pay.
What happened? Athena saw Elisabeth as a hindrance to her mission. She killed her.
Julian didn’t expect that result.
When you’re telling people what to do, be cautious. They may take it to the extreme.
Your directives may indicate to them that immoral behavior is okay. They may feel they can or must do anything to get the job done.
Be very clear about what you expect and set boundaries.
9. Kevin Flynn:
What makes you think I should help you?
Ares was transferred to Flynn’s Grid. This grid was different than the grid he knew. It was retro and not so sleek.
There, he meets with Flynn.
Ares lets Flynn know why he’s there. He’s seeking out the Permanence Code.
Flynn asks Ares why he would help make him permanent. Ares’ answer was shocking. Ares had realized life was not about him. There were people, feelings, and ideas that needed to be experienced. He was willing to move to that world.
Flynn asked Ares a difficult question. He wanted to know why he should help someone who had been an enemy. He wanted to see the heart of the person before he helped them.
Do you know the heart of your people? Do you have good people on your team? Are you willing to help them achieve their goals?
Great leaders are willing to extend their help to the people they lead. Be a helping leader.
10. Ares:
I guess that’s the thing about life, there’s nothing quite permanent about it.
Ares, by the end of Tron: Ares, realized there’s nothing permanent about life. Even as he steps into his mortality, he understands he made a choice that will change his life.
He won’t be able to be reconstituted. He can’t be brought back. He won’t have infinite lives. He now has one life to live.
Remember that life isn’t permanent. We live, we die, and people move on. Even if we leave the greatest legacy, at some point, we will be forgotten.
That’s okay.
Lead with this in mind. Lead with your best intentions. Lead trying to make a mark on the world.
