Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Coyote Vs. Acme
Coyote Vs. Acme almost didn’t see the light of day. The film is a live-action/animated hybrid. The film was completely finished when Warner Brothers decided to shelve it so it could take a $30 million tax write-off. That’s when Ketchup Entertainment and Legion M joined forces to save the film. They wanted to release it to the public. And they got it done.
Coyote Vs. Acme is set in the Looney Tunes universe. We get to see a lot of familiar faces. You may recognize:
- Wile E. Coyote
- Road Runner
- Bugs Bunny (Eric Bauza)
- Daffy Duck
- Porky Pig
- Foghorn Leghorn
- Tweety Bird
- Tasmanian Devil (Taz)
- Gossamer
- Pete Puma
- Marvin the Martian
- Elmer Fudd
- Pepé Le Pew
- Granny (Candi Milo)
- Witch Hazel
- Miss Prissy
- Hippity Hopper
- Instant Martians
- Charlie Dog
What’s the movie about? Wile E. Coyote, hereinafter referred to as Coyote, decides to sue the Acme Corporation, hereinafter referred to as Acme, after he’s experienced multiple failures with Acme products. Whether it’s the Rocket Skates or the Catapult or the Anvils or any of the other various products, every single one failed Coyote. He wound up battered and bruised after attempting to use them to catch his rival, Road Runner.
Seeing a billboard, Coyote contacts Kevin Avery (Will Forte) to take his case. Avery has been taking on small cases for years against Acme. He’d settle them for pennies on the dollar.
That all changes when Coyote graces the doors of his office. Avery unintentionally takes on a much larger case than he ever expected when Coyote stuffs the evidence box with every failed Acme product.
Coyote’s actions set the stage for a great family comedy as he keeps trying to set a trap for Road Runner.
Let’s explore how the antics in Coyote Vs. Acme can help you become a better leader.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Coyote Vs. Acme
1. Sometimes, the harder you try to get out of something, the more you get stuck:
The film opens with Daffy Duck stuck in a blue goo. He’s frantically trying to get out of it.
The more he tries, the more he gets stuck. Eventually, he’s completely covered in the goo.
We think we have to try harder and harder to get through a difficult situation. It’s just a little more effort… a little more grit.
The result? We just find ourselves digging a deeper hole. Becoming more stuck.
There’s time to keep struggling. Then there’s time to call it quits.
Know the difference.
2. Dr. Lorre:
Someday, the truth will be known.
Dr. Lorre was a scientist at the Acme Corporation. He had been part of the experiments Acme had been running. He wasn’t happy with what they were doing to the toons.
The good doctor was ready to get out of Acme. He was going to expose the truth. But as he escaped the facility, Acme thugs stopped him.
They gave him a choice. They laid out a cartoon manhole. Dr. Lorre could jump in, or they could push him.
Before he jumped, he shouted that the truth would be known. The world would one day know what Acme was doing to the cartoons.
If your organization is committing illegal acts, doing immoral things, or choosing the wrong path, it will be found out one day. The truth will be revealed.
Many organizations think they can keep doing wrong because they’ve never been caught. One day, they will.
3. Keep trying:
Coyote went to his home… a cave in the desert. We see what he had been doing.
Coyote had a pile of Acme gadgets. There were blueprints drawn up. He had hundreds of ways to catch the Road Runner.
He wouldn’t give up. He would keep trying.
We plan and plan and plan. Sometimes, our plans work. Other times, they fail.
On those times, we feel like quitting. Like the world is conspiring against us.
I want you to remember the successes. Those things you did right.
Keep trying. You’ll succeed again.
4. You’ve got to do more than talk about your values:
Avery and Coyote went to Acme. They needed to see the corporate lawyer, Buddy Crane (John Cena). He was the one who would be going against Avery. He and Avery were also old acquaintances.
While Avery and Coyote waited for Crane, they sat in a waiting room. Screens played a video loop of Acme corporate values. None of which they lived out.
Too many organizations talk about their values. They value family, their employees, and helping their customers. Yet what they do seems to go against those values.
The company is willing to ship shoddy work to say they met the deadline. They overwork their employees to the point that they have mental breakdowns or have to go to the hospital.
That’s not living up to corporate values. That’s living up to the bottom line.
You can’t just talk about your values. You need a culture where those values can be lived out.
5. Be careful not to offend people with your words:
Crane and Foghorn Leghorn meet. Crane is talking to Leghorn about the case. Leghorn is upset about it.
Crane tells him not to worry about it. He can kill two birds with one stone.
Uh oh… Leghorn is a giant rooster… A bird.
We can be insensitive with the words we speak. We can miss who we’re talking to.
Our words can have a devastating impact on those we lead. We have to be careful not to offend others with the words we say.
That won’t always be possible. Yet, it should be a goal.
6. Kevin Avery:
I got burnt out on trying.
Avery was talking to Coyote. He told him how it seemed Coyote always had a specific plan to get Road Runner.
At one point, Avery had a plan. He knew what he wanted. He tried to make it happen.
But he kept failing. Failure after failure, Avery got burnt out.
As a leader, you’re going to have to try a lot of different things. There’s always something new coming down the pipeline that will test you.
Learn to keep on trying. Even when you fail.
And if you feel burnout coming on, take a break. You don’t have to do everything all of the time.
7. Bad leadership will make things change negatively:
Paige Avery (Lana Condor), Kevin Avery’s niece and legal partner, goes to meet with Granny. Granny is Dr. Lorre’s wife.
Granny shares happy memories with Paige. Then she tells her of the change at Acme.
Her husband had always dreamed of helping the cartoon characters they interacted with. He did, for a long time. Then new leadership came into Acme.
That leadership stopped caring about the cartoons. They were out to make a profit and create things that would help humans while hurting the cartoons.
Granny recognized things had changed at Acme. So did Dr. Lorre. And they weren’t for the better.
Leadership can make or break an organization’s culture. When toxic, negative leadership comes in, they can change how an organization feels and functions.
Watch out for bad leadership. Be willing to speak up against it. You may face opposition but you can say you did something.
8. You can change your plans:
Coyote’s plan had always been to catch Road Runner. To feast on the delicious bird. BY HIMSELF.
However, we see Coyote change his plan. By the end of the movie, he wanted to catch Road Runner, cook him, and eat him with Avery.
It wasn’t a plan just for himself. The plan now included someone else.
Don’t treat your plans as unchangeable. Be flexible. Be willing to change.
You’ll see new people come into your organization. They can change your plans. Technology will change. That can change your plans. Leadership can change. That will change your plans.
Hold your plans loosely. Let them change.
9. Your rival can be your friend:
Coyote saw Road Runner as someone to defeat. To conquer. But that wasn’t all Road Runner was. Road Runner was a friend.
But it wasn’t just Coyote who saw Road Runner that way. Road Runner saw Coyote as a friend, too.
You’re going to have rivals. People who challenge you as you lead.
Are they out to get you? Or are they friendly competition?
If you have a work rival, invite them into a friendship. You’ll be surprised that they will say yes.
10. You can lose and still win:
Avery and Paige did their best to win Coyote’s case. However, they did not receive the judgment they had hoped for. Coyote did not win his case.
But…
That doesn’t make any of them losers. In fact, they end up winning big in the end.
As Paige and Avery return to their offices, they find lines of cartoon characters waiting. They wanted Avery and Paige to represent them.
Despite the loss, the law firm gained new clients. They still won.
Sometimes our greatest failures can become our greatest victories.
Someone may hear of your tenacity and want you on the team. A failed project may become the basis for a project that succeeds.
Don’t let failure stop you. See how you can turn the failure into a win.
Joseph Lalonde is the owner of JMLalonde.com. He shares leadership insights from movies, extreme sports, and life experiences.
