Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Tetris

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

Set during the 1980s, Tetris tells the real-life story of the race to license and patent the addictive video game. Tetris was created by Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov). The movie is based on true events and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

When video game designer and founder of Bullet-Proof software Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) was at CES (Consumer Electronic Expo) trying to sell his game, no one was paying attention. Even his salesperson left his booth to marvel over a new video game being displayed by Robert Stein (Toby Jones).

That game? TETRIS.

Man in a brown suit. Dark hair. Sitting in a chair with Tetris pieces falling around him.

Taron Egerton in Tetris

Henk walks over to the booth to discover his salesperson playing the game. He’s frustrated until he begins to play. Then it became the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

You Are Judged By Who You Partner With

I always tend to go back to a famous Jim Rohn quote. You know the one.

You are the average of the 5 people you hang around with the most

In the online world, we often associate that with surrounding ourselves with the people we want to be around.

The successful ones. The businessman (or woman). The creator or doer.

Who are you partnering with?

Those are great people to be around. They’re going to help propel your success.

What We Forget

While we’re trying to slide into the IN crowd, we forget something. We can easily let our sense of right or wrong slip away.

Or maybe it was never there to begin with.

Years ago, I remember attending a webinar for someone I highly admired. I was stoked to see him succeed.

Then I began to watch the webinar. And I was surprised by the co-presenter.

What’s Working For Me In The Blogging World

One of the big takeaways I got from my recent reader survey was the desire to learn more about blogging and what creates a successful blog. Because of that, I want to share what’s working in blogging.

I want to be of help to you as you build your platform. As you grow your audience. As you take your leadership presence to the next level.

Great blog tips

Image by Sean MacEntee

So, what’s working for me and my blog? There’s 4 things I’ve really been focusing on. If they’re working for me, I think they’ll work for you as well.

1. Creating a gift for email subscribers: It took me awhile but I released my first eBook in October of 2013. Since that time, my email list has grown at an accelerated rate. In the 6 months since the release of my eBook, I’ve seen my email list double in size.

10 Ways Young Leaders Can Start Strong

Many young leaders struggle with starting strong. They’re passionate and energized. And they want to make a great impression.

Yet there’s the struggle: How does a young leader start strong and leave the best impression possible?

Start Strong

1. Be Passionate: My first piece of advice would be to have a passion for leadership and what you’re doing. The more passionate you are, the more engaged you’ll be as you lead.

2. Listen to your team: You may be the leader of the team but you’re also fresh to the team. If you’re joining an already established team, listen to those who have been there awhile. They’ll have seen how things are run and what improvements can be made. Take their suggestions to heart.

You Must Be Willing To Pay The Price

Have you ever come across a leader who acts and commands with no regards to the consequences? And when something does go wrong he doesn’t accept responsibility for the mishap?

He’s a leader who is unwilling to pay the price for being wrong.

Fire Burning

Image by Matthew Venn

This type of leader can be the most dangerous. He’ll go full throttle. Throwing caution to the wind. Allowing every idea to be played out.

But a real leader knows that there’s a price to be paid when he is wrong.

He may be reserved. Restrained. Or cautious.

And yet he knows action must be taken to succeed. Risks must be taken. Mistakes will be made.

He’s willing to take the calculated risks. Ones that have at least a chance to succeed.

Because he knows this, he knows his decisions must be examined.