The Wrecking Crew brings together two movie powerhouses: Jason Momoa (Lobo in Supergirl) and Dave Batista (Drax in Guardians Of The Galaxy). The pair play estranged brothers. Momoa is Jonny, a cop who plays fast and loose. Batista is James. He’s a straight-laced Navy SEAL.
They reunite when their father, Walter (Brian L. Keaulana), is killed in a hit-and-run. The police initially rule the death an accident. Jonny believes it to be something else. Why? Yakuza thugs attack him in his home, looking for something his father was supposed to have mailed to him.
Jonny makes the trip back to his home in Hawaii. There, he reunites with James.
Let’s explore the leadership lessons within The Wrecking Crew.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The Wrecking Crew
1. Relief can be short-lived:
Walter was walking the streets of Hawaii. He was looking extremely nervous. He’d randomly look at the people around him, scanning for trouble.
There’s a mailbox. He walks up to it. He pulls the opening down. Then, he places a package inside. There’s a sense of relief that washes over his face. He’s done what he set out to do.
But…
He walks out of the alley. He goes to cross the street. A blue van streaks into view and straight into Walter, killing him.
His relief was short-lived.
There’s so much going on in your organization that can cause you stress.
- Lower-than-expected revenue
- A poor-performing employee
- Short-sighted leadership
You tackle one of these. The stress level goes down. Then, bam!, some new issue raises its ugly head.
Your relief was short-lived.
Know that leadership is one battle after another. You’re going to constantly face new issues, new problems.
When you know this is the path of leadership, you can be better equipped to handle the new challenges as they arise.
2. Valentina (Morena Baccarin):
Even when you’re here, you’re not here.
Valentina was Jonny’s girlfriend. We see her packing up her vehicle as Jonny pulls up on his motorcycle. She’s had enough of his shenanigans. She’s leaving.
Jonny protests, but Val has good reasons. One of those reasons?
Jonny may be there physically, but he’s not there emotionally or mentally.
We have to watch out that we don’t do this as leaders. We can’t check out and only check off the “leadership boxes” we think we need to. We need to be there for the people we lead.
That means listening and caring when they share a personal struggle. It means learning family members’ names. It means trying to understand performance issues from a people-view rather than a business view.
Leading is just as much about leadership as it is about getting results.
3. James:
She made room for you anyway.
When the two brothers meet again, there’s animosity between the two. We discover part of the issue is that their mothers were different. Their father had cheated on James’ mother, Malia.
James brings Jonny to Malia’s house. Jonny sees it as smaller than he remembered. James retorts that it was always this small. But…
Malia made room for him anyway.
It didn’t matter that Jonny wasn’t her son. She still cared for him the same as she did for her actual son. She made room for him.
Who do you need to make room for today?
You may need to make room for that obnoxious coworker who doesn’t get along well with others. Or it may be a young employee who is not a direct report, but you see the potential in them.
Find ways to make room for people that others discard.
4. Bad days can compound, but there will be better days:
Jonny’s day seemed to get worse and worse. Do you remember how Jonny’s day went? A little reminder:
- Val breaks up with him
- He gets word from Leila (Roimata Fox) that his father had passed away
- A group of yakuza broke into his house
That’s a lot that can go wrong. I’d be down and depressed if all that happened to me. I’m sure you’d feel the same.
However, as the movie progresses, Jonny’s life gets better. He
- Reunites with his brother
- Connects with long-lost family
- Finds a new place in the world
- Reunites with Val
Life throws us curveballs. We’ll find ourselves wondering when the bad will end. I can’t give you that answer. The answer I can give you is that things will get better.
Hold on. Hold fast.
Know that things will turn around. There are better days ahead.
5. It takes one person to spark change:
When Jonny met with James and shared his theory on their father’s death, James laughed it off. Jonny had delusions. He was just trying to make a story that works for their father’s death.
Yet, Jonny’s theory planted a seed in James’ mind. One that he pursued.
James went to Detective Rennert (Stephen Root). He began to ask about his father’s death.
His brother’s words sparked something. It led them to uncover a deeper conspiracy. It led them to the killer.
You may think you don’t have much to offer. I beg to differ. You have a lot to offer.
Your ideas. Your methods. Your skills.
They all add something to the organization.
And, when you begin sharing those with the organization, you can spark a change.
You may offer up a suggestion that quickly gets dismissed. Later on, you discover the idea was vetted and implemented. That idea changed the course of the company.
Don’t discount yourself. You can spark change.
6. Pay attention to the details:
Jonny was searching his father’s apartment. A young man, Pika (Jacob Batalon, Ned Leeds in the new Spider-Man movies), comes in. He attacks him but soon discovers Pika worked for Walter.
They begin to talk about his father and the work Pika did for him. Jonny looks up and sees a surfboard. There’s something not quite right about it.
Jonny notices one of the fins is on backward.
That doesn’t make sense. Jonny goes to investigate. He discovers blueprints hidden within.
The details panned out for Jonny. They’ll pan out for you.
Leaders must be aware of the details. What are some details you have to pay attention to?
- Customer reviews
- Employee attitudes
- Vendor performance
- Production values
If you’re paying attention to the details, you’ll soon discover what matters. You’ll discover what works.
The details matter. Pay attention.
7. Leaders do what they think is the right thing:
Jonny and James get into a fight outside of the police department. They’re tussling near the police cars. Then they begin throwing each other into them. Cars are damaged. Egos are bruised.
Then the talking begins.
Jonny felt as if he was abandoned. He felt that James had sent him away. He was the bastard child, after all.
James didn’t deny that he sent Jonny away. But he had a reason. Jonny was getting into trouble. He’d be sent to prison. The yakuza would kill him there. James did the only thing he could think of: send Jonny away.
He believed he was right.
Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t. Still, he did what he believed was right.
You’re going to make decisions that upset people. They’re going to feel as if you took sides, intentionally hurt them, or purposely messed things up.
Take heart. If you made the decision fully informed, with a right heart, you did the right thing in the moment. You did what you believed was right.
Now, if it comes to light that there were other things in play, be the bigger person. Own up to it. Let them know you believed what you were doing was right. But also admit you made a mistake.
When you do this, people will look at you with greater respect.
8. Your actions can cause massive problems:
The yakuza were chasing James, Jonny, Val, and Pika down the highway. It was a high-speed chase that racked up massive damage.
We see this as James holds one of the yakuza thug’s head to the pavement. He holds it there for a long time. Then he lets go.
The thug’s body bounces down the road. It smashes into vehicles. Others try to avoid it. This only causes them to hit other vehicles.
Lots of cars are damaged. There are explosions. It was chaos.
All because of James’ action.
We have to consider the ramifications of our actions. They can do great good. They can also cause massive problems.
9. Your people will accept more responsibility than they should:
James and Jonny get back to James’ home. James begins to look for his wife, Leila, and their kids. He can’t find any of them. He begins to worry.
What does he do? He calls Leila’s cell phone. It’s there, in the room with him. Uh oh.
He begins to search the house. He finds Lanie (Maia Kealoha) and Kai (Josua Tuivavalagi) hiding in the bathroom. Kai keeps saying that he should have done something. He should have been a better protector.
All of this from a young boy. Someone who shouldn’t have to worry about much.
It’s easy to think your team members won’t take on responsibility. Their job doesn’t require it. So we dismiss them. We think they’re lazy or unmotivated.
The truth?
Your team members are weighing themselves down with guilt over the things they should have done. They are taking on the emotional responsibility that isn’t theirs.
Walk through their responsibilities with them. Help them to understand what is theirs to worry about and what is not.
10. We sometimes put ourselves in the line of danger when we don’t need to:
James and Jonny make a run at the bad guy, Marcus Robichaux (Claes Bang). They attack his compound to rescue Leila and Haunani (Frankie Adams).
To start the assault, James tries to snipe one of the thugs guarding the compound. The shot hits the window. But it is bulletproof glass.
James thinks he missed his shot. Then the thug opens the window. James takes the next shot and hits his target.
How many times do we do something like this? We see danger. We avoid danger. Then we step back into the danger that’s waiting for us.
Probably more than we’d like to admit.
Be careful not to put yourself into dangerous situations you don’t need to.
