Late U.S. President John F. Kennedy launched America’s determined pursuit to win the international race to space when he declared, “I believe we should go to the moon.” What followed that simple, 8-word challenge was a frenzied, all-out effort by thousands of managers, engineers, and researchers to accomplish a seemingly insurmountable task.
While most managers possess a reasonable level of administrative ability to accomplish tasks that flow from a declared goal, the qualities that distinguish true leaders are much less common, a situation as true today as it was in 1961 when President Kennedy issued his national challenge.
Ed weaves absorbing descriptions of the experience of spaceflight into clear identifications of leadership qualities of the early pioneers who set the stage, the rocketry spearhead, the political leader who inspired a nation, astronauts who set the bar high, and dynamic heroes on the ground who compelled success in technical development and mission control.
Ed shows how each of these leaders, driven by vision and courage, earned the respect and trust of the teams they led. As they tempered these qualities with empathy, they added a human touch to their greatness.
