This Movie Taught Me More Than Every Business Bestseller

The best leadership lessons don’t come from TED Talks or airport bestsellers with one-word titles.

They don’t ask you to find your “why” or teach you to make millions.

That’s influencer cosplay.

Sometimes real leadership shows up where you least expect it—like a black-and-white war film from 1949.

12 O’Clock High isn’t a framework.

It’s not trying to sell you a philosophy.

It’s just the story of the 918th Bomb Group—an American air unit falling apart under pressure, flying daylight missions over Nazi Germany.

But buried in that story is a leadership masterclass that still puts most business books to shame.

General Frank Savage (played by Gregory Peck) delivers that line early on.

No whiteboard.

No inspirational TEDx voice.

Just blunt truth.

His job isn’t to motivate a team with abstract purpose.

It’s to fix a broken system before more men die.

Compare that to Simon Sinek doodling circles about purpose on a flip chart.

Savage doesn’t need “why.”

The mission is the why: hit the target, get home alive.

The genius of the film is how it contrasts Savage with his predecessor, Colonel Keith Davenport.

Davenport is beloved.

Empathetic.

He flies missions with his men.

He shields them from blame.

He leads from the heart.

And it’s not working.

Missed targets. Crashed planes. A unit crumbling.

Sound familiar?

It’s the manager who avoids hard conversations, who keeps underperformers around because they’re trying really hard.

Savage walks in and burns it all down.

He fires the Air Boss.

He makes everyone swap roommates because someone broke ranks to try to save a friend.

He shuts down the bar.

He’s not nice.

But he flies with them.

He takes the risk too.

And that’s the difference.

He’s not building a “personal brand.”

He’s building a team that can survive.

There’s a quiet moment—blink and you miss it—where Savage shows he understands the theater of leadership.

He pauses before arriving at base, smokes with his driver casually, then shifts gears: gets in the back seat, lets protocol take over.

He knows when to be human—and when to reinforce the chain of command.

Leadership requires both.

Today’s gurus would have a shit fit.

Where’s the psychological safety?

Where’s the emphasis on work-life balance?

Savage doesn’t care.

He knows: respect is earned through competence and shared sacrifice, not compliments and corporate swag.

And here’s the kicker most leadership books won’t touch: leadership breaks him. 

Savage doesn’t ride off triumphant.

He burns out under the weight of command.

Because real leadership…when it’s life and death, or even just jobs and livelihoods…isn’t a five-step process.

It doesn’t always end cleanly.

Sometimes the right leader for a crisis isn’t the right one forever.

Sometimes doing the job right comes with a cost.

That’s the real lesson of 12 O’Clock High…and it’s one no bestselling business book is willing to admit.

So the next time someone tells you to read another guide on “authentic” or “servant” leadership, just nod politely, and watch 12 O’Clock High instead.

No circles. No fluff. Just hard choices, hard truths, and the weight of command.

Yallah Habibi,

Jon

P.S.

I made our leadership team watch the movie, here’s what our Head of Recruitment, Sofia, had to say:

P.P.S.

Lucky you.

The whole movie is free on Youtube.

ICYMI:

I also did a live stream (soon to be a podcast) with Binsi today on global leadership.

We talked about:

Culture clashes in a global workforce

How to actually develop people

How to build your team’s confidence and autonomy

Worth a listen if you’re leading across borders—or want to.