MM Leadership in Movies by Leader May Roxas: movie synopsis, JCampbell and my life story analysis

Prof,

I made a search in the blogsite and did not find this paper uploaded. I am re-sending it for your review and comments.

Regards,

May

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: may roxas <roxasmay@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Oct 17, 2015 at 10:49 PM
Subject: MM Leadership in Movies - Leader May Roxas
To: profjorge.entrep.jermits@blogger.com

Hi Prof,

I chose this movie because I am a science-fiction fan and because I can feel I can relate with the kind of leadership shown. Because the hero is mostly alone, it's not all about leading a group or a team, but it's more of leading oneself by making critical and important decisions in life. I also learned that unlike in the movies, one goes through these phases more than once as one passes through it in different aspects of life, like family, career, love, etc.

It is very interesting to note that our lives are indeed very similar to the movies and vice versa. This exercise made me reflect on how my life started and how it unfolded. It seemed that if we only look deeper, we will find out who we are by the situations that we've all gone through. Our personalities got tested by each event and these events molds us into different and better individuals.

1) THE ORDINARY WORLD

Movie: The movie started with a Martian storm hitting the Ares III, a manned expedition to Mars. The storm resulted to Mark Watney, an astronaut, to be left behind because he was thought dead. The commander of the expedition, Melissa Lewis had to make the decision to leave Watney to save the lives of the other 4 crew members. The hero in the story is Watney and his life as an astronaut is his "ordinary world".

My Story: I was raised from a small and close-knit family. It has always been my father, my mother, myself and my younger sister. My father is the sole breadwinner, since my mother stopped working when I turned one. I started schooling at an early age - at three years old. My mother said that I was only supposed to "seat-in" in kindergarten class, but the teacher encouraged her to enroll me formally, since I was able to catch-up with the lessons. I love reading when I was young, as a matter of fact, as soon as the school books arrived, I cover them and read them right away. However, it was not until high school that I started to excel in school. I graduated as 1^st Honorable Mention and was able to get in to UP. Because I like chemistry and math, I took up BS Chemical Engineering in the university. My life as a daughter and as an engineer is my "ordinary world".

2) THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

Movie: Because the storm destroyed the communications equipment, Watney was unable to contact NASA. Although he did not die from the storm, he knew that there was a bigger challenge – he needs to survive at Mars for at least three years and journey to the landing site of Ares IV to get a chance to return to Earth.

My Story: I heard my call to adventure when I was 19. My father has been always the sole breadwinner of the family. My mother stopped working when I turned one. She just stayed home and took care of me and my sister. We were not rich, but we were able to get by with my father's income for our day-to-day expenses. In 2000, the factory where my father worked closed down. He was able to get a retirement pay, so we were able to renovate the house and buy two vans. My parents put up a trucking business, however, after 2-3 years, the business got bankrupt and we incurred a lot of debts.

3) REFUSAL OF THE CALL

Movie: Watney sustained a wound during the storm – one of the communications antennae pierced through his stomach and he had to remove it and stitch himself up. He went to the HAB – this was the team's "headquarters" while in Mars. He surveyed the remaining provisions and found out that this will not last him until the next expedition to the planet. At that moment, he thought that he will die soon.

My Story: I was in my third year that I felt the change in our situation, but I didn't really accept it. My allowance was greatly reduced, but I pretended to my friends that I'm still okay. I lied about my actual situation because I was embarrassed to admit that we were broke. I know that we do not have the money, but whenever I had school requirements, I force my parents to find a way to provide those to me. In short, I refused to understand and acknowledge the situation where we were in.

4) MEETING WITH THE MENTOR

Movie: Unable to contact anyone, he created a series of video logs to keep sane and maintain morale. Slowly, Watney felt the realization that he does not want to die in that place. He reaches within and found the desire to not give up on the current situation.

My Story: It was on the eve of my Graduation Ball that I fully understood our situation. I was actually not able to attend. I really felt so bad about it that I cried myself to bed. Suddenly, my mother was beside me sobbing and apologizing profusely. She told me that if only we had the extra money, then she would give us everything we wanted in life. After hearing that, my heart melted and I vowed to myself that I would do something to improve our situation in life.

5) CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

Movie: After he made the decision that he wanted to survive, he began organizing the HAB and fixing the solar panels for power. He also started modifying the habitat's rover, so that it can handle long journeys. Because he is a Botanist, he used his knowledge in creating an artificial habitat to grow food. He started growing potatoes and storing them to last him until the next expedition to Mars.

My Story: Similarly, after making the decision that I want to help improve our status in life, I started to make my own sacrifices for my family. After graduation came the board exam. None of my friends tried to find a job while reviewing for the board. I accepted the first job offer I got, even if I didn't like it and the pay was low. All I thought at that time was I need to help in our finances and I need the money to pay for the board exam review. Every day, I went home at 8pm from work and woke up at 1am to review for the board. At 4am, I started to prepare for work. This cycle went on for 6 months until the day of the board exam. There were days that I found myself in tears because of exhaustion, but I never gave up. In the end, all my efforts paid off and I gained something more than a PRC license. With this experience, I learned that I can do anything I put my heart into.

6) TEST, ALLIES AND ENEMIES

Movie: During the observation of satellite photos, the NASA Engineers saw that the solar panels have been moved, which led them to believe that Watney was alive. However, the NASA Director decided not to tell this to the rest of Watney's crew for fear that Watney will not be alive for long.

My Story: A month after passing the board exam, I decided that it is now time to change my career path. I did not want to be a Quality Control Engineer in a semi-conductor company. I was idealistic at that time and so I believed that I should only work for a company where I will be able to use what I studied in college. Hence, I applied in an (EPC) Engineering, Procurement and Construction company. I worked as an Instrumentation Engineer and stayed in the company for five years. It is here where I met most of the people who had major influence in my life. Some of them became my best friends, others become my mentors who inspired me to be who I am now, while a few gave me a hard time (which I later realized I'm quite thankful for).

7) APPROACH

Movie: In one of Watney's exploration in Mars, he was able to locate the probe, Pathfinder, and was able to use it to finally regain contact with Earth. Because of this progress, NASA created a plan to send a space probe to provision Watney until Ares IV arrives in Mars.

My Story: After a year, I got sent to Japan to do the Engineering Design work for my project in Qatar. It was my first time to be away from my family and it was not easy for me, because I'm really attached to them. For the first month, I cried every night out of homesickness. My stay in Japan was for 8 months and I was only able to survive it with the support from friends and the inspiration from my family. The assignment helped me improve my finances and gain a broader perspective of the world.

Four months after my return from Japan, I got deployed to Qatar to provide Field Engineering support to the project which I participated in the Design. While in this assignment, I was given a lot of tasks that greatly challenged who I am and what I am capable of. I learned to trust and believe myself more. I was able to work with people from different nationalities and it opened an entire new point of view for me. I am often clueless on the tasks at first but I worked hard, persevered and believed in myself, hence I was able to survive the assignment.

8) THE ORDEAL

Movie: NASA was eager to launch the space probe at the shortest possible time that mistakes were made and the probe blew up during the launch. At the same time, Watney suffers his own misfortune when the airlock in the artificial habitat explosively decompresses, killing his crops and diminishing his forecasted supply of food for the next few years.

My Story: My initial stint in Qatar was only one year, but my stay got extended for another 1 ½ years. I got involved in the Phase 2 of the project and the customer was very happy on my performance that he requested me to stay longer to support the start-up of the second site. I could no longer give in to his request since I thought that two and a half years was already a long time for being away from my family. Moreover, I felt that there's something else that I should be doing with my personal life.

I returned to my office in Manila in 2011 with excitement on the new chapter of my life. However, my eagerness was met with disappointment. Because of the work culture (seniority), I was assigned tasks that did not measure up to what I am capable of. I got bored because I did not feel challenged. Three months after, I decided to quit my job.

9) THE REWARD

Movie: There were two options to help Watney – one is for the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to provide a booster that can carry a payload to Mars or have the Hermes (their aircraft) extend its mission and recover Watney from Mars by intercepting the probe. In the end, the NASA bosses decided to go with the latter option.

My Story: While I was deliberating my own options: 1) stay in the company and wait for a break or another assignment or 2) look for another job, I tried to weigh in all the consequences present. I compared salaries, benefits, location, etc. I reflected on what's really important for me as an individual. I know that I could remain in my comfort zone and wait for my moment to shine, or I could accept a job offer in a new company as a Process Automation Engineer and venture into an unknown world. After much thought and consultation with family and friends, I decided to turn a new leaf and get on-board with a new job. The incentives are the new environment and experience that a new job will bring. The best part is I will get a higher pay without needing to be sent in an overseas assignment. At that time, it was very important for me to stay in the Philippines.

10) THE ROAD BACK

Movie: Seven months after, Watney has driven all his support to the Ares IV site in preparation for the intercept. Following the instructions from NASA, he strips down the launch vehicle to save weight, using his spacesuit for protection in space. Meanwhile, the crew of Hermes readies themselves to intercept Watney in space at the pre-decided time.  

My Story: At first, it was not easy for me to accept that Process Automation Engineer is really doing Technical Support work remotely. I did not anticipate that I would be answering phones and emails to solve issues thousands of miles away. I did not appreciate the rotating schedule. In an instant, my world made a 180 degree turn, my nights turned into days. The new lifestyle took a toll to my health – the stress levels were too high that I started to gain weight and to acquire (what I think is) IBS. There was even one time that I got hospitalized but the doctors did not find anything wrong with me and suggested that I go visit a psychiatrist. I did not go to a psychiatrist, but I decided that I will not let my current situation defeat me. I enrolled in a gym and began to run races every month. After a few months, I bounced back. I developed a new mindset in my work – I started valuing my work and showing leadership potential in the office.

11) THE RESURRECTION

Movie: As the crucial moment approached, Hermes fails to go down the altitude needed to intercept Watney. The crew decided to improvise by creating an explosive device that will rupture an airlock to generate that extra thrust. Realizing that he is still too far away, Watney pierces his pressure suit to get close to the ship.

My Story: After a year, I was finally able to adjust in my work as a Technical Support Engineer. I was happy and content where I was. My future career plan is to specialize technically. Occasional lead roles were okay, but my aspiration is really to become a Product Engineer and focus on the development of new products. However, this changed when my manager approached me one day and told me that I will be sent to Bradenton, Florida for a one-year assignment. I told him several reasons for not wanting to go, but none of those reasons were convincing enough. The true reason that I didn't want to go is that I have just recently returned from a long-term assignment and I am just now picking-up the pieces of my life back. I felt that although 2 ½ years in Qatar made my career a better one, it has some trade-offs with my personal life. Since I was not able to dissuade my manager, I have decided to just  tender my resignation.

Thankfully, I was saved from making that choice because of an internal opportunity that opened up. The post was a long shot for me because of the following reasons: 1) I am still new in the company; 2) I am still young; 3) I have no relevant formal work experience and 4) I am up against more senior and experienced candidates. Yet, I was able to get the position.

12) RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR

Movie: After Watney returns to earth, he begins his new life by becoming an instructor of the astronaut training program in NASA. It is here where he shares his own experiences and teaches the students problem solving and creative engineering.

My Story: I have been two years in my Project Manager role and I can say that I could have not wished for anything different in terms of my career. I may have not become a Product Engineer, but things eventually turned out for the better. I like what I am doing now, I get to stay in the country and I have more time to do what I want in life.