Protector tells the story of Nikki (Milla Jovovich). She’s a war hero who came home to take care of her daughter, Chloe (Isabel Myers). When Chloe is kidnapped, Nikki springs into action. She’s a momma bear out to protect her cub.
The film reminds me very much of Taken, with Liam Neeson. Nikki has a particular set of skills. Someone she loves is in danger. She’s not afraid of using those skills to get her back.
Until there’s a shocking twist.
If we look at Nikki’s journey, there’s plenty a leader can take away from her mission. Let’s look at those lessons in today’s Reel Leadership article.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Protector
1. There can be conflict on multiple fronts:
The film opens with Nikki talking about her time in the military. There was conflict abroad.
However, she also states there’s conflict domestically. That conflict? Human trafficking.
We can look at our leadership conflicts and see only one side: The one that we’re currently facing. Yet, there’s often conflict on multiple fronts.
What does that mean for you?
- Leaders have to be aware that there’s also conflict in the personal lives of their employees
- Vendors and customers may be having issues not related to your organization
- Technology and other tools may be causing trouble
There’s conflict on multiple fronts. Be willing to deal with multiple issues at once.
2. Nikki:
Well, I already lost the first 15 years…
Nikki was in the military. Her service to the United States took her away from her husband and daughter. The deployments really took a toll on her daughter.
Why? Because Nikki wasn’t home for most of her daughter’s first 15 years. She was fighting a war away from home.
Her family suffered.
The good news is that Nikki recognized she had given up so much. She wanted to make things right. She wanted to make sure she experienced the next 15-plus years of her daughter’s life.
Leading an organization takes its toll. It will drag you away from your family and friends.
Too many leaders take too much time away from their families. They think their organization needs them more than their family does.
That’s a lie. Maybe even straight from the pits of hell. Your family needs you more than your organization.
The choice is up to you on how much time you’re willing to spend away from them. My suggestion is to minimize that time. Your family needs you.
3. You can be too late:
Nikki and Chloe argue after Chloe’s birthday didn’t go the way she wanted. Chloe said she was going to bed. Instead, she snuck out with her friends.
Where did Chloe and her friends go? To a bar. Where Chloe meets Ben (Shane Williams), a human trafficking lookout. Ben decides Chloe is his next target.
Nikki discovers Chloe has snuck out. She uses an app similar to Apple’s Find My Phone app to track down her daughter. She arrives at the bar and discovers Chloe has been drugged and is being led out of the establishment.
She does her best to stop the traffickers. But she’s too late. Her daughter is gone.
You may do everything right. You may follow all the rules. And still be too late to get things done.
Be aware that there are times when things won’t go your way. You’ll give your all and still come up short.
4. Make the most of your time:
Nikki states that in the case of a missing child, you typically have 72 hours to find them alive.
We see Nikki regaining consciousness. She had lost time. Approximately 28 hours.
She had to make the most of the time remaining to find her daughter.
While your situations aren’t life-or-death, they’re still important. They’re also time-based.
You’re going to want to get down to business. Make sure things are getting done.
Don’t waste your time. Make the most of it.
5. Butcher:
There’s always a choice.
Nikki is strung up, ready to be butchered by the Butcher. The Butcher had already killed Ben.
Why did he kill Ben? Ben had given up information in Nikki’s search for Chloe. He’d revealed locations Nikki shouldn’t know about.
Nikki tells the Butcher that Ben didn’t have a choice. Butcher tells Nikki there’s always a choice. Nikki later uses this line on the Butcher as well.
Guess what? There’s always a choice. You get to make decisions.
When making decisions, consider the cost.
6. Don’t underestimate others:
The Butcher does a number on Nikki. When Sullivan (Don Harvey) calls, he stabs Nikki with his knife. He takes the call.
But he underestimates Nikki.
Nikki uses the time Butcher is on the phone to adjust her body. She’s able to reach the knife, cut herself down, and attack Butcher.
Butcher’s underestimation of Nikki led to his death.
We underestimate people all the time. We don’t understand the skills and talents those in our organization possess. We think they’re one-dimensional.
They’re not.
Your people have talents you couldn’t comprehend. They have value beyond measure.
Let’s stop underestimating our people.
7. Nikki:
Pain is temporary. Infections are not.
Nikki had been jacked up by Butcher’s attack. She needed medical attention.
She begins to tend to her wounds. She stitched up cuts. Sanitized wounds.
One thing she knew was that the pain was temporary. Not tending to her wounds would be permanent.
What areas of your life are you ignoring? Where are you paying attention because there’s pain? But you’re not tending to the possibility of infection?
Tend to areas that are prone to infection. The pain will fade. The infections will have a much longer-lasting impact.
8. Sometimes, you don’t know how close you are to success:
Nikki confronts Sullivan. She asks him where Chloe is. Sullivan states he doesn’t know.
That’s the end of Sullivan as we knew him. Nikki takes him out.
Nikki proceeds to open the trunk of the vehicle Sullivan had been in. There was Chloe. She was right there.
She was so close. (Plot twist at the end shows that this wasn’t Nikki’s daughter. Her daughter had been killed.
Leading an organization to success takes a lot. You have a vision of what could be. You may have a plan on how to get there.
Everything lines up. You proceed to follow the plan but things don’t go the right way.
You wonder what’s next. How will you ever succeed?
Sometimes, that success you’re seeking is right there on the other side.
Keep working at it. You’re closer than you know.
9. You don’t have to destroy your competition:
Captain Michaels (D.B. Sweeney) had sent his SWAT team in to take care of Nikki. Before the SWAT team can act, Colonel Joseph Lavelle (Matthew Modine) steps in and orders Michaels to stand down.
The Captain pretends to obey. He tells the SWAT team to stand down while Lavelle is nearby. Then, he enters his office and makes the call for them to get Nikki.
Nikki uses their technology to contact the Captain. She tells him his men are incapacitated, but not dead. She neutralized the threat to herself without killing them.
We’re often taught that businesses have to take out their competition. It’s ruthlessness.
But that’s not how we have to do business. We don’t have to destroy the competition.
Instead, we can learn to work with others. We can find ways to make each other better.
Let’s stop killing one another. Let’s start working together.
10. Little compromises can lead to big disasters:
Lavelle and the Captain were in a car together. Lavelle asks the Captain why he’s going so hard after Nikki.
The Captain tells Lavelle that the military isn’t the only one that’s seen dark things. They’re not the only ones who have made compromises.
The Captain’s words alluded to the fact that he may have made compromises in his work, including working with The Syndicate on human trafficking.
His compromises led to big disasters for himself.
Watch what you’re willing to compromise. You can’t compromise on the important parts of your life, faith, and beliefs.
When you do, you’re going to find yourself in a lot of trouble.
