It’s time to return to the world of Transformers. It’s a beautiful world where sentient beings can transform, battle each other, and save the world.
In this outing, we see the origins of Optimus Prime/Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron/D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) (I’ll use the names we know them by throughout this article). We know them as mortal enemies. However, they didn’t start this way. Instead, they were buddies who loved one another.
Transformers One shows us the progression from friendship to enemies.
The movie turned out better than I expected. I wasn’t sure how a buddy-comedy would play in the Transformers world, but I liked it a lot more than I expected. So have audiences around the world.
But what about leadership? Are there leadership lessons in Transformers One? You bet your bottom dollar!
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Transformers One
1. Things may not work on your first try:
Optimus Prime broke into an archival vault to learn more about their history and to find the location of the Matrix of Leadership. He plugs a chip into one of the workstations. The chip blips to life but then glitches. The holographic image isn’t clear and becomes pixelated.
What does Optimus Prime do? He pulls the chip out (like we used to do with the original Nintendo Entertainment System), blows on the chip, and plugs it back in.
Boom! The chip and hologram begin to work perfectly.
It was a simple fix for Optimus Prime. But things didn’t work for him the first time he tried.
Isn’t that the case for a lot of us in leadership? We try something that should work. The thing doesn’t work, and we’re left wondering what went wrong.
Don’t leave it there. Don’t think things are jacked. They’re not.
Many things won’t work the first time you try them, even the tried and true leadership models. You will have to continue to modify and try things multiple times.
Keep at it until things click.
2. Consider whether or not your goal is worth it:
Optimus Prime tripped alarms for the guards in the archival vault. These guards came at him hot and heavy. He had to get out of there.
As he’s fleeing, it looks like he’s in big trouble. This is when his buddy, Megatron, makes an appearance. He assists Optimus Prime in his escape.
Afterward, Megatron had a question for Optimus Prime: was the data worth it?
This question gave me pause. It should give all leaders pause, though with a twist.
The question leaders should be asking themselves is whether or not the goal you’re pursuing is worth it.
What is the cost of increasing your organization’s profits? Is it worth bringing in someone who is against your organization’s values? Who is hurt by my actions as I chase success?
These questions will adjust your view of what’s really important.
3. Megatron:
Your feelings got you in trouble.
Optimus Prime acted a lot on feelings. He did it time and time again. Many times, his feelings led him to trouble.
One such situation was when Optimus Prime tried to transform without his transformation cog (this allowed Transformers to convert into an alternate form). He did this and was stuck in an uncomfortable situation.
Megatron noticed how Optimus Prime acted on feelings. He questioned Optimus Prime to consider what his feelings were doing.
Feelings are not a bad thing. However, they’re not something we should constantly act on.
Our feelings can deceive us. Our hurt and pain can lead us to do things we wouldn’t normally do.
Be aware of how you feel. Understand how your actions taken on feelings can affect you and others.
Your feelings can get you in trouble.
4. Leaders must break protocol:
One of the other Transformers, Jazz (Evan Michael Lee), became stuck under a falling rock. The mines were ordered evacuated. Optimus Prime broke the order. He broke the protocol.
Why? Because he saw someone in need and knew someone had to act. The person to act would be him.
This frustrated Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson). She didn’t want others put in danger.
Optimus Prime knew better, though. He couldn’t leave a fellow miner behind.
Protocols and rules are put into place for a reason. Often, because someone at some point did something their leader didn’t want repeated.
They saw an easy way to prevent the action from reoccurring: create a rule or policy to prohibit it.
What happens when the protocol is no longer needed? Or, worse, hurts others?
I believe those protocols need to be eliminated. In the meantime, leaders may need to break the protocol to help others.
Be willing to break protocol when it is hindering rather than helping.
5. Not everyone will believe in your dreams:
Optimus Prime wakes Megatron up and shares a new dream he had. The dream? They participate in the Iacon 5000.
The Iacon 5000 is Cybertron’s (the Transformers’s home planet) top racing event. Transformers from around the world would come to compete in the event. Only the best would win.
It was highly unlikely Optimus Prime or Megatron would win. They didn’t have their transformation cogs. All they could do was run the race.
This didn’t matter to Optimus Prime. He had a dream: to beat just one Transformer and give hope to the other miners.
Megatron shook off Optimus Prime’s dream. He saw it as futile. Something that couldn’t be done.
When we share our dreams with others, we share some of our innermost selves. We give them a glimpse of what we long for.
Sharing our dreams with the wrong people could crush dreams that could be reality. Be cautious with whom you share your dreams with.
6. B-127/Bee/Bumblebee (Keegan-Michael Key):
I have a lot of hopes and dreams I’d love to share with others.
Bumblebee had been relegated to level 50 of the mines. There, he was alone, all by himself. He’d been there for so long that he couldn’t remember when he was first sent there.
Well, Bumblebee now had company. Megatron and Optimus Prime were sent there by the scheming Darkwing (Isaac C. Singleton Jr.) after they almost won the Iacon 5000. He wanted those bots out of his way.
Upon Bumblebee meeting Optimus Prime and Megatron, he shared his hopes and dreams that had been bottled up.
Think of Bumblebee as your employees. So many of them have had their hopes and dreams bottled up. They’re battling just to survive another day.
Be the person who hears their hopes and dreams. More than that, be the person who helps them achieve their hopes and dreams.
7. Alpha Trion (Laurence Fishburne):
You have not been saved. You’ve been living a lie.
Bumblebee, Megatron, and Optimus Prime escape from the level 50 mine by climbing up one of the dump chutes. Once there, they hopped on board a train. Elita-1 sees them and tries to stop them. She’s unable to do so, so she reluctantly joins the ragtag bunch of Transformers.
They explore the surface of Cybertron to discover the deactivated shells of the original Primes:
- Alpha Trion
- Megatronus Prime
- Micronus
- Zeta Prime
- Prima Prime
- Vector Prime
- Onyx Prime
- Quintus Prime
- Liege Maximo
- Solus Prime
- Nexus Prime
- Alchemist Prime
- Amalgamous Prime
The Quintessons had defeated them, or so the legend went. The truth was far more insidious.
While the Primes had battled the Quintessons, one of their own had slain them (all but Alpha Trion). Sentinel (we learn he was not a Prime) had stabbed his friends in the back to take control of the Matrix of Leadership. The Matrix of Leadership had rejected him, so he plotted to rule over the Cybertronians until he could find a way to obtain it.
Alpha Trion reveals this truth to the four Transformers. He opens their eyes. They now have a choice whether or not to act on what they know.
If you’ve been living a lie and the truth has been revealed, you are now responsible for choosing what to do next. You can continue to live a lie or you can change course.
Great leaders change course. They cannot continue to live a lie.
Be the leader who changes.
8. Your reactions to situations can determine your future course:
Megatron and Optimus Prime had two very different reactions to learning the truth.
Optimus Prime wanted to share the truth with the other Transformers. He believed they deserved to know the truth. Upon learning the truth, Sentinel would face judgment.
Megatron had a much different action in mind. He wanted to destroy Sentinel. He would rip him limb from limb.
As we see at the end of Transformers One, their reaction to the situation diverged their lives. Optimus Prime went on to try to restore balance. Megatron went on to try to rule with an iron fist.
Our reactions are a peek into our innermost beings. The way we react reveals who we are inside.
It’s not too late to change if you don’t like what you see when you react. You can change your response.
Work on changing your innermost self.
9. Elita-1:
You have hope.
Elita-1 tells Optimus Prime she is better at everything than he is. However, there’s one thing Optimus Prime is better at.
Optimus Prime has hope.
Hope changes things. You can tackle what seems impossible when you and your people have hope. You can do crazy things.
Share hope with your team. Help them cultivate the power of hope in their lives and your organization.
10. Great leaders sacrifice:
Megatron takes a shot at Sentinel. He delivers a blast so powerful it would have killed him. It didn’t kill Sentinel. Instead, the blast hits Optimus Prime as he dives in front of Sentinel. He couldn’t let Megatron kill another Transformer.
Optimus Prime falls into the center of Cybertron. There, he is greeted by past Primes. He’s also given something:
The Matrix of Leadership
They bestowed it upon him because of his sacrifice. There was something special about him. It was that he was willing to sacrifice above and beyond.
When was the last time you sacrificed for your team? What have you given up so others may rise to the top?
If it’s been too long, you must consider whether you’re leading well. Great leaders step in front of others to take the hits, give of themselves, and more.
Sacrifice. It’s what leaders do.
