Steve Carell returns as the lovable former evil genius Gru in Despicable Me 4. Continuing the story from the Minions and Despicable Me movies, Gru’s growing family is threatened.
Superville Maxime (Will Ferrell) has escaped prison. He’s out for revenge on Gru since Gru put him away in the first place. Gru, working with the Anti-Villain League (AVL for short), had originally captured him.
Now, Maxime is plotting his revenge. He’s going to kidnap Gru Jr.
This journey is more than entertainment or junk food for the mind. Gru’s journey to protect his family is all about leadership. And that’s what you’re going to discover in Despicable Me 4.
Join me as we explore the leadership lessons in this film.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Despicable Me 4
1. Find ways to increase productivity:
Despicable Me 4 opens with the Minions putting lights into a LiteBrite type of device. Placing each lite by hand took a long time. That’s when another Minion appeared.
Stuart had created a LiteBrite gun. This device could shoot the little lites out quickly and fill the device.
With the gun, the Minions were done quickly. Stuart had found a way to increase productivity and get the job done.
What areas of your business could benefit from a productivity boost? You might take into consideration the 2 Second Lean method. It’s a way to increase productivity 2 seconds at a time.
The more productivity you introduce into your organization, the more your organization can get done. Seek out ways to improve productivity!
2. Your team will emulate you:
Gru pulls up to the School of Villainy. He’s in a fancy car. What happens next is hilarious.
Another, smaller car pulls up. It’s his Minions. They’re emulating Gru because they respect him.
Guess what happens in your organization? If your people respect you, they will begin to emulate you. Sometimes, even if they don’t respect you.
Be aware that they’re watching your actions. They’re going to do what the leader does.
Be a leader that’s worth emulating.
3. Gru:
Bingo! There’s your silver lining.
The Anti-Villain League sends Silas (Steve Coogan) to warn Gru and his family of danger. They need to go into protective service.
His family includes:
- Lucy (Kristen Wiig)
- Edith (Dana Gaier)
- Agnes (Madison Skyy Polan)
- Margo (Miranda Cosgrove)
Are semi-frustrated. Gru’s family doesn’t want to leave their home, school, and friends. However, Gru points out a silver lining.
Silas has said that even their family can’t know where the safe house is. That’s a positive, right? Well, maybe for Gru.
Great leaders are always trying to look for a silver lining. They know times will be tough. The trials teams go through will be difficult.
Yet, there’s something positive to look toward. It could be a successful product launch. It could be a world-changing discovery. Or it could be getting to the end of an extended product release.
Find things to be grateful for. Look for the silver lining even in the trying times.
4. Know what’s important to others:
Maxime escapes from the AVL prison. He has revenge on his mind. He knows what he is going to do.
What is that? Maxime is going after Gru Jr. Why? Because Gru Jr. is important to Gru. Losing baby Gru will hurt him.
While Maxime’s reasoning for going after Gru Jr. is harmful, he had it right. We need to know what’s important to others.
Learn what’s important to your team members. It could be family, sports, recognition, or something else.
By discovering what’s important to the people you lead, you know what motivates them. You can then use this knowledge to encourage your team as they work toward completing projects.
5. Lucy:
I say we make it a great one.
Lucy is Gru’s wife. As the kids are at the safe house dining room table, they’re arguing.
Margo says she can’t lie about her name. She goes on to say her sister can because she’s a liar.
Lucy steps in to try to clear the air. She tells the kids that they have the opportunity to make their day great.
Know what? So do you! You can make your day a great one or a slog.
How your day goes is up to you.
Choose to make your day great. Look for the positives. Find ways to make it more exciting.
The more effort you put into making your day great, the better your day will be.
6. Leaders take calculated risks:
Stuart and the AVL put 5 Minions into a transformation chamber. This chamber could give the Minions superpowers. Or it could explode and kill them.
The risk was great. But it was calculated. There was a greater chance of success than failure.
And succeed they did.
The 5 Minions leave the transformation chambers changed. They now have superpowers.
What risks do you need to take in your organization? Are you holding back because your next decision could be risky?
Examine the risk. See what the challenges are. What are the adverse outcomes? Positive outcomes?
Weigh those. Then decide on whether or not to take the risk.
7. The truth will shock us:
Sensei O’Sullivan (Brad Ableson) was training Edith and Agnes in the ways of karate. Edith is asked a straightforward question by the Sensei.
He wonders aloud if Edith will cause trouble. Her answer was candid. And it shocked the Sensei.
Her answer was, “Yes, I’ll probably cause trouble.”
She was truthful. But the truth still was shocking.
We often demand the truth. Yet, we don’t always want to know the truth.
The truth our team members give us can shock us. If they tell you that you’re not doing a great job leading, listen. They know. They experience you every day.
Listen to the truth your team tries to tell you. The truth is shocking but informative.
8. Include things different people can enjoy:
Despicable Me 4 is a kid movie at heart. The directors knew that kids wouldn’t be the only audience they had. They’d have the attention of their parents.
So, the directors threw a bone to the parents.
In one scene, Lucy pretends to be a hairstylist. She works on Melora’s (Laraine Newman). However, she is not a stylist and doesn’t know what she’s doing. She burns Melora’s scalp and flees the salon.
Then… Lucy runs into Melora at the grocery store. Melora turns into a Terminator-type of character. She chases after Lucy like the T-1000 Terminator chased down the protagonists in Terminator 2. Adults loved this scene because it harkened back to something they could relate to.
There were things in Despicable Me 4 that resonated with kids. There were also things that resonated with adults. They balanced the two perfectly.
While you may be targeting a specific demographic for your business, consider what you could do to include others. Your organization may be helping men regrow their hair. How could you include women in this? Pitch to them the benefits of their man having a full head of hair and confidence. It benefits both groups of people.
When you find ways to include others, you grow your audience.
9. You won’t have the right tools all of the time. Find alternatives:
Poppy Prescott (Joey King) is Gru’s neighbor’s daughter. She’s an aspiring supervillain.
She recognizes Gru and hatches a plan to break into the school. She has her eye set on stealing the school mascot.
Gru reluctantly agrees to help her.
The pair use a hot air balloon to get to a safe place to enter. Unfortunately for Gru, his villain bag is left in the hot air balloon. They had brought the baby’s bag.
This mistake turned out to be okay. They still had tools they could use.
Gru used a safety pin to open a hole in the window. He then used the top of the baby bottle to suction off the piece of glass. So on and so forth. He used what he had on hand.
We won’t always have the right tools on hand for the job. However, we may have other tools that will work.
Look for tools that could get the job done, even if they’re not the proper tools. You may be shocked at what can be used as a replacement.
