December 16, 2020 4 min read

When audio was leaked this week of Tom Cruise berating Mission: Impossible 7 team members for disobeying COVID-19 protocols, it was a win-win for all things internet: Scandal-hungry surfers got little insight. common to the power dynamics of a high-stakes Hollywood film set; Myriads of media reflected on the movie star / mogul and eccentric Scientology supporter most memorable outbursts; and NBC’s streaming app Peacock held millions captive in front of an announcement of their Saved by the Bell reboot as a prerequisite for streaming The Sun’s audio clip of Cruise’s tirade.

But the highest morsel to chew on isn’t if Cruise, who is both the franchise’s main on-screen protagonist and the behind-the-scenes producer, went overboard by exclaiming, “We’re creating thousands of jobs, you motherfuckers!” to a couple of staff members who were too close to a monitor or belittled them for their transgression while meekly muttering “Yes sir” in repentance. Rather, it’s about whether the 58-year-old entertainment titan served as a model for vigilant leadership amid a pandemic that has specifically jeopardized his film’s production timeline and, more existentially, the business. of cinema in general, instead of going off the rails in a way somewhere between his Magnolia Frank character “TJ” Mackey’s quasi-motivational whiplash and Christian Bale’s infamous twist while filming 2009’s Terminator Salvation.

It’s a difficult question to parse when crucial details about the incident remain unclear, particularly whether Cruise’s victims had been repeat offenders and whether, in fact, the study and insurance companies perceive him as the ultimate culprit if more COVID-related problems put your investments at risk.

There are cases that must be presented in favor of all kinds of discipline in any setting where the actions of a few can endanger the livelihoods of many. Ask college athletic coaches, who favor a militaristic approach to enforcing order. Or, alternatively, you can appeal to team members with assurances about how you relate to the tightrope everyone walks, and then reiterate your expectations.

Although as Jeffrey Hayzlett, president and CEO of the C-Suite Network, tells Entrepreneur , “It’s all about delivery. You have to be careful how you present your case. You can have good food, but if you throw it at someone, you won’t be able to eat it. “

Still, in this case, and despite all its quirks, we’ll give Cruise the benefit of the doubt that he had no choice but to go nuclear. Because, as the 40-year industry veteran knows better than most, filmmaking can be a risky business.