Sweat The Small Stuff. Without Letting Anyone

One Chief Astronaut Used To Make A Point Of Phoning The Front Desk At The Clinic Where Applicants Are Sent For Medical Testing, To Find Out Which Ones Treated The Staff Well-and Which Ones Stood Out In A Bad Way. The Nurses And Clinic Staff Have Seen A Whole Lot Of Astronauts Over The Years, And They Know What The Wrong Stuff Looks Like. A Person With A Superiority Complex Might Unwittingly, Right There In The Waiting Room, Quash His Or Her Chances Of Ever Going To Space.

"what's The Next Thing That's Going To Kill Me?" Is A Mantra For Pilots And Astronauts.

I've Had A Chance To Fly A Lot Of Different Airplanes, But It Was Nothing Like The Shuttle Ride.

If You Haven't Learned To Ride A Bike By The Time Your Peer Group Has, Then Suddenly It's An Embarrassment And You'll Avoid Opportunities Where You're Expected To Ride A Bike. And Then It Starts Shaping Your Behaviour. Reading Is Much Subtler, But Much More Destructive If You Have Not - For Whatever Reason - Learned To Read By The Time You Should.

Ultimately, Leadership Is Not About Glorious Crowning Acts. It's About Keeping Your Team Focused On A Goal And Motivated To Do Their Best To Achieve It, Especially When The Stakes Are High And The Consequences Really Matter. It Is About Laying The Groundwork For Others' Success, And Then Standing Back And Letting Them Shine.