Based on the novel Mickey 7, Mickey 17 asks the question: What’s it like to die? For Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), he’s faced death 16 times. Each time, he is reprinted and sent out to die once more. So, he knows what it’s like to die.
Mickey 17 was written by Bong Joon Ho and Edward Ashton. Their story will have you scratching your head, laughing, and maybe even crying.
Join us as we explore the leadership lessons in Mickey 17.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Mickey 17
1. Mickey Barnes:
Why do you do this to yourself?
Mickey asked himself why he allowed himself to be tested on, dissected, and killed. All of this without any life insurance.
He had an answer…
He’d gotten himself into a bad spot. He and his friend gotten into a bad business relationship with loan shark Darius Blank (Ian Hanmore). Blank was after them once their business venture failed.
They had to get away.
I think all leaders need to ask themselves this question with a twist. Ask yourself why you keep leading, why you got into leadership.
When you truthfully answer, you’re going to hear some hard truths. You may realize you took on your role for the money, prestige, or boredom. Or you may realize you truly want to help others. You wanted to create new leaders, influence others positively, and make a difference.
When you ask yourself
Why did I get into leadership?
You’ll find a lot about yourself.
2. The odds may be overwhelming but you can still overcome:
Mickey wanted to join the expedition to Niflheim to escape the loanshark. It was his way to get away.
However, he saw long lines of people when he arrived at the processing center. There was no way he’d be chosen. The odds were overwhelming.
But guess what? Mickey overcame the odds. He was chosen to be a part of the expedition to the frozen wasteland of Niflheim.
Never count yourself out. You may see overwhelming odds. Guess what? That means there’s still a chance.
You can prove yourself by giving your all, making connections, and being you. You have a lot to offer. Make sure you show all that you have.
3. Always read the paperwork:
While Mickey was chosen, he wasn’t selected for the best reason… He’d actually signed up for the job no one else wanted. He signed up to become an expendable.
What is an expendable? An expendable was a person who agreed to have his brain copied. He would also have his body reprinted when he died. The people who became expendables were used for horrendous experiments.
He hadn’t read the paperwork to understand.
You have to read the paperwork in any agreement you enter into. The terms and conditions should be laid out clearly.
You also have to understand what’s in the agreement. Make sure both parties are getting a win.
4. Have backups of your information:
Every ten days, Mickey’s brain would be backed up. They wanted to ensure they had fresh copies of the expendable’s memories.
This ensured fresh memories were available if and when they died.
Do you have backups of your information? We’re not talking about uploading your brain to a computer. However, you can ensure your organization has fresh copies of the information you keep in your head.
You can do this by:
- Writing down and documenting critical processes
- Storing copies of vital business information in a secure place
- Creating a hard copy of anything that might help the organization in case you were to pass away
As you create these items, the time you spend updating them will be shorter and shorter. You’ll find yourself doing a small update rather than a large upload.
5. The right coworkers can make time go by quickly:
Mickey met a coworker on the transport ship. Her name was Nasha (Naomi Ackie). They hit it off and had a close relationship.
More than that, their relationship made time go by quickly. They had to spend four years on a ship floating through space. I imagine it could get quite boring.
Mickey said that instead of the trip seeming like 400 years, the time went by quickly.
We all know the right coworkers can make or break an organization. Work can be a drag when you have coworkers who slack, call in sick, or complain.
On the other hand, when you have coworkers who pitch in, bring a positive attitude, and enjoy their work, work can fly by.
Find those coworkers who can make time go by quickly.
6. Accidents happen:
A group of four explorers goes out on an exploration mission. One was a young woman named Jennifer Chilton (Ellen Robertson). She was a vital part of the mission.
Jennifer had seen a Creeper, an alien creature. She began to shoot furiously at the roof of the ice cave. The ice cave collapsed, killing her.
Upon her death, Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) was furious. He didn’t want anyone but the expendables dying. Now, he had a dead woman with a purpose.
Kenneth didn’t understand this. He begins to punish Mickey when he returns by cutting his rations. Kenneth couldn’t let an accident be just an accident.
How do you react to accidents? Do you freak out? Do you punish others? Do you find ways to make life miserable?
Great leaders don’t do that. They know accidents happen.
They look for the root cause. They seek answers. Then, they take the appropriate steps.
Remember, accidents happen. How you respond to them is important.
7. Mickey:
How did I survive that?
Mickey 17 opens as Mickey falls into an ice cave. There are Creepers that appear ready to tear him to shreds. His friend, Timo (Steven Yeun), sees him lying there. He tells Mickey it’ll be okay. You’ll be reprinted and leaves.
This scene is picked back up later in the film as we discover that Mickey didn’t die that fateful day. Instead, the Creepers push him out of the cave.
Mickey wonders how he survived it…
You’re going to find yourself with days like that. You’re going to wonder how you survived so many years in leadership.
The trials, challenges, and hardships add up. They take their toll.
Know that you can survive difficult situations.
8. Leadership may continue to scare you:
Mickey returns to the base. Upon returning, he discovers something upsetting… He’d been reprinted.
The reprint creates a conundrum. There’s only supposed to be one copy at a time. One would have to die.
As Mickey 17 and 18 begin to fight, 18 asks 17 if he is scared of dying. 17 says he is, even though he’s experienced it multiple times.
Mickey 17 also has a similar conversation with Kai Katz (Anamaria Vartolomei). With Jennifer having died, she wondered what it was like, if it was scary. His answer was the same. He told Kai:
No matter how many times I go through it, it’s still scary.
You might wonder if leaders still get scared despite leading for years. The answer?
Of course, they get scared!
They don’t know the future, of the actual outcome, or who might get offended. They have to make decisions based on the information they know at the moment.
Don’t be ashamed of being scared. Leadership is scary. But leaders lead through the fear.
9. Beware of cult-like behavior:
Kenneth and his wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette), were part of a church cult. They had gone on this expedition to create the perfect human race.
Everything they did was to manipulate others into doing what they wanted. However, Kenneth doesn’t realize he is being played by Preston (Daniel Henshall).
Preston was his assistant, but he also had ulterior motives.
Cult-like personalities will require others to do exactly as they say. There’s no if, ands, or buts about it. The leader is the ultimate end.
It’s easy to fall into a cult-like mentality of being unquestionable. You’re making the final call, you should be followed completely.
Wrong.
You can’t do that. That’s a cult. The proper way to lead is to make the best decisions you can with the information you have with input from others.
Make sure you’re not the driving force of right.
10. We can misinterpret situations:
Mickey thought the Creepers had rejected him. They’d denied his death. He felt hurt by their actions.
When he told Nasha what happened, she saw a different scenario play out. Instead of killing him, the Creepers saved him. They rolled him out of the cave to give him life.
Same situation, two different viewpoints. With Nasha’s viewpoint being correct.
We can fall into the trap of misinterpreting or misreading situations. You can see someone’s actions as unfavorable when they were trying to help.
Give the benefit of the doubt to those you lead and do business with. Look for the positive side.
You may initially misread the situation.
