Growing up on Florida’s Space Coast was all about the United States Space Program. As a kid, it was common for the windows on our house to shake and rattle as another rocket launch and its 7.68 million pounds of thrust left the earth on another exploration. These Saturn rockets that powered the Apollo Program, were over 360 feet tall, that’s 60 feet taller than the statue of liberty. For us on the space coast, it was a time when the impossible became the possible practically every day. These early “Rocket Scientists” were the heroes to a Florida kid growing up in the 60’s and 70’s.
Even though I had the opportunity to work on over 40 missions on the Space Shuttle program during the 80’s and 90’s, nothing could compare with the great pioneers who came before me. They were those of the early space program who can be seen in the recent movie, The First Man. We (my wife and I, and my son who works on the space program), had the opportunity to view the film along with some of the people who worked on the Apollo program so many years ago. Needless to say, it was an emotional evening. After the movie was over, the theater erupted in applause as they gave their approval to this evening’s cinematic memories they still cherish today.
I got to experience those days as a kid, but most of the people in the theater that evening were part of the history shown in this movie. The statement that Neil Armstrong made in the movie was the “DNA” of this program then and now. Words we need to live by. We need to fail down here, so we don’t fail up there.
Such a simple and seemingly common-sense statement should be in the vocabulary of every leader in any occupation. Of course, we don’t all get to go into space, but we all should have a level of “freedom to fail” in our daily pursuit of excellence. When you give your employees the freedom to make mistakes, they become proficient, effective and fulfilled.
As you build your team, look for people who struggled toward their success. They know what it takes to be creative, stay focused through hard times and never give up. They understand how to be focused on a project while thinking outside the conventional wisdom of solving problems. Bill Gates said, “success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking that they can’t lose.” Find and develop those who understand failure but have overcome it by success. They are the leaders who have the “failure toward success DNA” that makes a great hire for your team.