Few men inspire the kind of awe, undying respect, and nearly-incoherent fan mania that follows Mr. Bruce “Bruno” Willis. No matter how dire, how hopeless, and how terrifying the situation — terrorist takeover, extinction-level meteor event, Ruby Rhod, etc. — Willis, or more appropriately, Willis’ characters, never back down from the challenge. And in doing so, we’re taught what it truly means to be a leader.
Critics haven’t exactly been kind to his new release Red 2 (it’s holding steady at 40 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), but that doesn’t take away from the fact that in the film Willis’ character will undoubtedly do something awesome and leadershipy. To pay homage to the man he’s made each and every one of us, it’s time to recap the seven greatest leadership lessons we’ve learned from Bruce Willis’ inspirational onscreen alter egos.
#1. BE PROACTIVE
John McClane | Die Hard
It would have been easy for vacationing NYPD detective McClane to hole up in an empty office with his wife and wait for the authorities to come in and deal with the hijacking of Nakatomi Plaza. But what does he do instead? His job. A leader doesn’t wait for someone to task him with something, he goes out and gets what he needs — shoes, a machine gun, plastic explosives, and Carl Winslow — to see the job through.
Inspirational Quote: “Now, you listen to me, jerk-off, if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem. Quit being a part of the fucking problem and put the other guy back on!”
