Creed 2: 38 Leadership Quotes And Lessons

Tonight I had the privilege of seeing Creed 2.  It is outstanding!!! Creed is one of my favorite movies and 32 Leadership Lessons From Creed is one of this site’s most read posts so I was looking forward to the sequel. It did not disappoint. You can’t help but compare it to the first. It is not as good as that but still very, very good in its own right.

The movie begins with Adonis Jordan, played by Michael B. Jordan who should win the Oscar for his performance, winning the world heavyweight boxing champion. He also then became engaged to Bianca, played by Tessa Thompson, from the first film. When challenged by Russian fighter Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago from Rocky IV, the movie takes shape.

Before I begin, Sylvester Stallone was absolutely robbed when not winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Creed. Can the Academy please correct their mistake this time around? I’m just saying….

This movie is really about the relationship between fathers and sons. It is about reconciliation. If you are looking for a good Thanksgiving movie to see, Creed 2 is it.

The following are 38 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Creed 2:

1. Great Leaders Have Longevity – Sylvester Stallone has kept the Rocky character alive and relevant for 42 years!!! Think about that.
2. Smart Leaders Give Their Customers What They Want – This movie checks all the traditional Rocky franchise boxes – supportive wife, motivational speeches, training montage, life-or-death boxing match, wise trainers, and catchphrases like “I must break you.”
3. Smart Leaders Raise Up The Next Generation Of Leaders And Pass The Baton To Them – As an athlete, Rocky/Stallone’s time has past. Stallone, very intelligently, rose up Johnson/Jordan to become the franchises’s cornerstone.
4. Successful Leaders Follow A Proven Process – Bianca told Adonis prior to his championship fight, “Just another fight. We got this.”
5. The Toughest Person To Lead Is Yourself – Bianca asked Adonis, “Are you having to prove something to other people or prove something to yourself?”
6. A Son Draws His Confidence And Identity From His Father – Ivan Drago told Rocky, “My son will break your boy.”
7. Leaders Should Invite Others Into A Grander Story – Promoter Buddy Marcelle told Adonis, “The belt ain’t enough. You need a narrative.”
8. “What good is a light that don’t light.” – Rocky
9. Successful Leaders Do Not Live In The Past – Rocky told Adonis, “In the ring, you got rules. Outside, you got nothing. Life hits you with all these cheap shots. People like me, we live in the past. You got people that need you now. You got everything to lose, this guy has got nothing to lose.”
10. Leaders Are Always Looking For Options – Adonis told Rocky about the fight with Drago, “I ain’t gotta choice.” To which Rocky replied, “That’s the same thing your father said, and he died right here in my hands.”
11. A Leader’s Decisions Affect Not Only Them But Everyone They Love – Rocky continued, “Look at what his choice did to your mother.”
12. Desperate Leaders Are Dangerous Leaders – Rocky said, “That kid was raised in hate. When a fighter ain’t got nothing to lose he’s dangerous.”
13. Successful Leaders Set High Goals – Adonis said, “I wanna rewrite history.”
14. Successful Leaders Are Driven By Passion – Adonis asked Bianca, “If we don’t do what we love, we wouldn’t exist.”
15. Your Level Of Expectation Determines Your Level Of Preparation – Bianca said about having a baby, “I don’t know if we’re ready.” Adonis replied, “Let’s get ready.”

1. Smart Leaders Play To Their Strengths – Adonis said, “What would I be afraid of. I’m a fighter. This is what I do.”
2. Great Leaders Have Great Empathy For Those They Serve – Rocky said while watching their initial match, “Stop the fight.”
3. Leadership is not done in isolation. Your spouse goes through your leadership journey with you.
4. Healing Is First An Inside Job – Mary Anne Creed, played by Phylicia Rashad, told Bianca, “He’s a grown man. He has to heal from the inside out.”
5. Smart Leaders Manage Expectations – Adonis said of his father, “I was afraid I couldn’t live up to his expectations.”
6. Crisis Can Cause A Leader To Lose His/Her Priorities – Bianca told her mother-in-law, “Nothing doesn’t matter to him now, including me.”
7. Husbands And Wives Are A Team – Adonis told Bianca, “We’re a team.”
8. Leaders Should Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable – Brigitte Neilson appears in two scenes in the movie. That was uncomfortable.
9. Try To Live A Life Without Regrets – Rocky said, “I wasn’t even there when my son’s son, my grandson was born.”
10. Smart Leaders Know What Is Truly Valuable And What Is Fleeting – Rocky asked Adonis, “What’s the valuable stuff? What are you really fighting for?”
11. Family Takes Priority Over Your Career – When it came time for Adonis’s baby to be born, Rocky told him, “Today is going to be the best day of your life.”
12. Leaders Must Be Willing To Have Difficult Conversations – Facing a possible birth defect with their child, Rocky asked Adonis, “What if it ain’t OK? How are you going to handle it?”
13. People Are A Picture Of The Leaders – Adonis told Bianca about their baby, “She’s a fighter, just like her dad, and her mom too.”
14. Yesterday’s Solutions Will Not Solve Today’s Problems – When training began, Rocky told Adonis, “If you want to change things in a big way, you need to make big changes.”
15. Regarding Adonis’s training, if you want to get the results no one else is getting, you have to do things no one else is doing.
16. Struggle Is Necessary For Strength – When going to their training camp in the desert, Rocky told Adonis, “Since you’re going back to hell you might as well get used to it.”
17. If you get back up in the training, you’ll get back up in the battle.
18. Leaders Must Know Their Why – Viktor was fighting for the belt. Adonis was fighting for something on the inside.
19. How Bad A Leader Wants It Determines Their Level Of Success – Rocky told Adonis during the fight, “From now on it’s who wants it more.”
20. Successful Leaders Are Resilient Leaders – Rocky told Adonis during the training and the fight, “We’re going to give pain and we’re going to take the pain.”
21. There Is No Success Without Succession – Rocky told Adonis after his victory, “It’s your time.” I felt this was symbolic of Stallone handing the Rocky franchise over to Creed to begin his own.
22. Leaders Must Fight Their Own Fight – Standing over his father’s grave, Adonis told him, “I did it. I did it because it was my fight.”
23. John Maxwell’s Law Of The Inner-Circle – Your success is determined by those closest to you. Adonis, without Rocky as his trainer, lost his first fight with Drago. With Rocky in his corner for the second fight, he won.

Once again, Creed 2 is simply outstanding. Jordan gives the best performance by a 2018 male lead I have seen. An Oscar should be in his future. Go see it and have a great time.