Taken 3 continues the story of Bryan Mills, a man with a specific set of skills that make him a nightmare for the bad guys. And for men, especially, his story is one that resonates.
What man doesn’t want to protect his family? What man doesn’t want to see justice extracted from evildoers? What man doesn’t want to be the hero?
This is why the Taken movies have resonated with me and many others. They hit on a theme that is central to men. The desire to protect.
When Taken 3 was announced, I was stoked. The previous entries in the Taken series provided great entertainment and had me sympathizing with what Mills had to do.
Knowing part 3 was coming out was icing on the cake.
As usual, I try to look for the leadership lessons contained in current pop-culture movies. While there were leadership lessons in Taken 3, I had a much harder time picking them out.
But I did find a few interesting lessons and quotes. I hope you enjoy them below.
1. Debts are a dangerous thing: The movie opens with a man being taken from his home and to a business. There, he is forced to open a vault so the villains can retrieve money their boss is owed.
Only there’s a problem. There’s no money in the vault.
The perpetrators of the crime then call a man to tell him his debt isn’t paid and there’s trouble for him.
We’ve been taught that debt is an okay thing to have, especially in business. Debt allows us to build our businesses.
While this may be the case in rare instances, more often than not debt is a bad thing. We get over our heads with payments and can’t find a way out.
Be careful when taking on debt. In most cases you can get away without taking out a loan.
2. We’re more predictable than we think: Kim Mills had many habits she didn’t realize. She would go to the same store every morning and purchase the same item. She’d then carry out other routines.
She couldn’t see the patterns she had in place but her boyfriend Jimmy was able to see them. When brought to her attention, she couldn’t believe it!
We’re much like Kim. We have routines that make us predictable.
We drive the same route to the office. We purchase the same drink from Starbucks. We are creatures of habit.
Be aware of this if you find yourself in a rut. Your habits are probably keeping you there.
3. Bryan Mills –
Something terrible has happened. I wanted you to hear it from me first.
Mills wanted to break the news to Kim that her mother and his ex-wife was dead. She was killed by someone looking to frame him.
He took responsibility to notify the person he knew would be most affected by the news.
When something terrible happens in your business, are you willing to step up and let your team know what’s going on? I hope you are.
4. Have an exit plan: After Mills’ wife was murdered, he had to run from the law. He was being setup to take the fall but we knew he was innocent.
As he raced to escape the police that were closing in around him, Mills knew of a place that he could go to escape.
While we won’t be running for our lives and, hopefully, not running from the police, we can learn a valuable lesson here. Know how to make an exit.
Too many leaders stick around way too long without passing the leadership baton. Stop holding on and make a proper exit when it’s time.
5. Bryan Mills –
I don’t know how many times I can say sorry
Sometimes our team needs to hear “I’m sorry” when our plans don’t pan out. Seeing you accept responsibility helps them realize they can make mistakes as well.
6. Reach out to the right people: Mills was in trouble. The police were in hot pursuit and he needed a place to prepare. This is when he calls on his friend to see if his fail-safe plan was still in effect.
It was and he made a run to the location. He prepared himself and was ready to go.
He knew who to call and where to go.
Leaders need friends they can call on when they’re in a bad place. Friends can keep you afloat and help you get your head on right.
7. Bryan Mills –
Get through what’s at hand
Our thoughts are always going. We’re looking for the next great breakthrough.
All the while we’re struggling to get through the situation at hand.
It’s time we begin working through our current projects and complete those before moving on.
8. Bryan Mills –
My first priority is my daughter
This line spoke volumes to me. As Mills was taking care of business, his main priority was caring for his daughter.
He needed to see her safe.
Working hard is great but it’s a slippery slope. All the hard work is worthless if you fail to have the proper priorities.
Taken 3 was an enjoyable movie. The them once again hit home with me as a man. The desire to care for and protect my family seems to be ingrained in my core.
While this was a great movie, there’s quite a bit of violence but what else could you expect from Liam Nesson in Taken? There’s also a couple of questionable scenes regarding relationships.
If you can get over these things, you’ll have yourself a great time and possible discover a few leadership lessons.
Question: Have you seen Taken 3? If so, what leadership lessons did you take away from the movie?
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