10 Minutes Gone stars two of my favorite actors, Michael Chiklis (I loved Chiklis in Fantastic Four, The Shield, and No Ordinary Family) as Frank and Bruce Willis as Rex. It’s always difficult for me to watch newer Bruce Willis movies knowing we will no longer see him in recent movies. He has a language disorder called Aphasia. This disease affects his ability to speak, listen, read, and write.
The man who brought us such entertaining movies as Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon, and other films began to take any film work he could as his disease progressed. Within two years, Willis had made over 15 movies. That’s a lot!
10 Minutes Gone‘s story centers around Frank, his brother Joe (Tyler Jon Olson), and Rex. Frank and Joe were brought into a crew to commit a bank heist. The heist, as one might expect, doesn’t go as planned. Something happens, and the alarms go off early. This throws off the plan, ultimately resulting in Frank being knocked unconscious for 10 minutes and Joe’s death.
Now, Frank is on a mission to find out who turned on the crew. No one will stand in his way, even the ones he partnered with.
It’s time to dig deeper into 10 Minutes Gone than most people will. I know you’re not like most people. You’re someone who wants to learn and grow. That’s why we’re going to look at the leadership lessons in 10 Minutes Gone.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From 10 Minutes Gone
1. Leaders have contingency plans:
The heist crew members were gathered around a table at the bar. The crew consisted of Griffin (Kyle Schmid), Baxter (Swen Temmel), Marshall (Sergio Rizzuto), Joe, and Frank. Each man had their reason for being on the team.
Joe was the planner. He was to lay out what would happen, when, and where. Not only did he do this, but Joe also went a step further. He laid out contingency plans. He wanted to ensure the team would hit the bank, get the score, and get out safely.The best leaders have contingency plans – Leadership lessons from 10 Minutes Gone
We love our plans. We think they will go off with a hitch. Most of the time, this isn’t true.
A wrench is thrown into most plans. We have to shift, adapt, and work through the challenges we face in the moment.
Plan on having a contingency plan. You can fall back on this when things don’t go as planned. It will help you get through the challenge by knowing what to do immediately.
2. Know the game:
Frank talks about the card game Three Card Monte.
Three Card Monte is a confidence game, as Frank puts it. Victims, the marks, are pushed to bet large sums of money, thinking they can find the lucky card. Shills, people working for the dealer, pretend to work with the mark. They make the mark think they can win together. Nope, they’re on the dealer’s side. There’s no chance of winning.Great leaders know the game that’s in front of them – Leadership lessons from 10 Minutes Gone
Frank knew the game of Three Card Monte. He knew what to expect, how it was played, and what the end would be.
Do you know the game of leadership? You must understand and study the game.
You’ll find struggles, dangers, and pitfalls in being a leader. You’ll have to work with others, figure out what’s going on, and win with others.
3. Know your people:
Rex was talking to Richard (Texas Battle, what an awesome name?!?) about the heist. In fact, Richard was in on it. He was the middleman who would pawn the diamonds.
Rex mentioned each member of the crew by name. He told Richard who they were, what they did, and how they benefited the crew.
Can you do that? Do you know your team members’ strengths? Do you know what they add to the team?
Don’t let another day go by without getting to know your people. Find out what motivates them, what they love to do, and what they excel at.
4. Beware of distractions:
Frank and Joe break into the bank’s vault. While there, Frank begins to crack the safe. Joe goes for the safety deposit boxes. He pulls box after box out, throwing the empty ones on the floor.
Clang, bang, boom.
Each box made a racket. The racket made Frank lose focus.Distractions are dangerous for leaders – Leadership lessons from 10 Minutes Gone
What distractions are you facing as you lead? Are you able to ignore them? Do you get sidetracked?
Work on dealing with distractions. The more you’re aware of distractions, the better you can deal with them when you face them.
5. Richard:
This isn’t what I signed up for.
The bank heist went bad. Richard became frustrated.
He told Rex that he didn’t sign up for this trouble. With Joe dead, the case missing, and police officers shot, the pressure would be on.
Richard wanted out after getting in.
You may have entered into leadership thinking it would be a cakewalk. Now, you realize that leadership isn’t the thing you signed up for. Leadership is something completely different.
Don’t worry. We all find this out shortly after stepping into a leadership position. Leadership is so much more than what we signed up for. It’s so much better, too.
The overwhelm can make you want to quit. Don’t! Give it time. You’ll soon come to love leadership again.
6. A lot can happen in a short period of time:
Frank and Joe had fled the bank when they were attacked. Frank was knocked out for 10 minutes. In that 10 minutes, a lot happened.
Joe died. The other crew members fled. The police arrived.
A lot happened.
We tend to forget that a lot can happen in a short period of time. We look to the future and plan these grand schemes. They seem so wonderful.
Yet, we miss the here-and-now moments. We miss what happened recently.
Look at the now. Make sure you’re paying attention, so you don’t miss out on what’s happening as you work toward the big picture.
7. Frank:
Reputations have a way of opening and closing doors.
Claire (Meadow Williams), Joe’s girlfriend, was picked up by Frank. He had promised Joe he would protect her if anything were to happen.
Claire noticed that Frank wasn’t the type of man Joe had described. Frank responded with the quote above. He knew reputations had a way of opening and closing doors.
Your reputation is essential. Your reputation can be the key to opening doors or doors that are slammed in your face.
Work on building an authentic, positive reputation. Your reputation will do more for you than your skills, knowledge, or schooling.
8. Beware of clouded judgment:
Frank began tracking down each member of his crew. He would ask them about the box, where the other members were, and other questions. He would then take them out.
Big problem here…
None of his people had turned. His judgment was clouded because of his brother’s death.Leaders have to be cautious of clouded judgment. You’ll make bad decisions when you’re not thinking straight – Leadership lessons from 10 Minutes Gone
The true villain was Claire. She had jumped Frank, shot Joe, and took the box of diamonds.
When our judgment is clouded, we make bad decisions. We don’t see what’s clearly in front of us.
If you notice you’ve become laser-focused, step back. You may be working under clouded judgment.
Once you’ve confirmed you’re not, get back at it. If you see that your judgment is clouded, clear it.
