Avengers: The Danger of Meaningless Consequences

Avenger’s: Infinity War.

Brace yourself—once launched this one doesn’t let go till the credits role. 

Josh Brolin, as Thanos, gives a remarkably human performance. Thanos is a complex, multi-faceted antagonist. There’s far more going on here than a one-dimensional and predictable villain. The audience notes this immediately.

In the film’s final act our heroes begin dropping at a staggering rate. Each death sequence is brilliantly acted and sincerely portrayed.

The problem is this: most of these deaths are entirely meaningless.

And the audience knows it.

Above: Our Marvel favorites. All dead. Erased. Gone forever, from May 4th, 2018 until May 3, 2019.

They’ll all be back; we’ve seen it before. We’ll see it again. Death is yet another conquerable force for our heroes.

The problem with the Marvel universe is this:

Nothing is ever final, and there are no irreversible consequences.

Imagine an alternate ending to Gladiator after Maximus dies. After Lucilla states “He was a warrior of Rome—honor him” an elderly, grizzled Shaman descends into the arena—revealing a life-saving amulet from a parallel dimension. Within moments Maximus is restored to full health, leading a rowdy crowd of Romans into town for a night of debauchery.

Note the problem here. If Maximus’s death were reversible, the film wouldn’t work at all. The power of the story hinges on the finality of his sacrifice.

Without meaningful consequences the power of the story is stolen.

The leadership lesson is this.

Ethics. Human Resources. Organization rules. Corporate guidelines.

There must be highly defined policies with no meaningless consequences. Our ethics are clearly taught, their repercussions clearly defined. Teach them religiously. Ingrain them in the ethos of your organization.

Make a single exception, and you’ll be making that exception for all that follow—unless you want to be sued by the next person also expecting a “free pass”. Precedent must be set. Make the break quick and clean.

It isn’t easy. It is reality. Those who compromise ethical integrity must go.

Ethics are the linchpin of modern organizations. You cannot make exceptions.

Careers, marriages, entire organizations: we’ve all seen the catastrophic damage when ethics are compromised. Within a defined and acknowledged policy there are no shades of grey.

Define the ethical guidelines of your organization with complete clarity. State the consequences.

And most importantly: mean it.

Mark Joseph Huckabee