Simon Sinek – How great leaders inspire action
An evening pause: Though I do not think his hypothesis goes far enough, this short TED talk posits some intriguing ideas about leadership. And it seems somehow appropriate today on the Ides of March, which also makes me wonder what Julius Caesar (and other successful leaders, both good and evil) would think of these ideas.
Hat tip Doug Johnson.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Nice talk. He could be right.
What if a company’s founder is so enthusiastic that he puts the “why” right in the name? He could name it after himself, as Boeing did. He could reference his planet in the name: Blue Origin. He could name it Space Exploration Technologies, the why for founding the company.
‘We are here to explore space. So are you. Use our rocket to get there.’
‘We are here to go to Mars. You want to go, too. You can afford to go with us on Starship.’
That second one is pretty much how they introduced Starship, seven and a half years ago.
What is your why?: “Collateral Beauty – Beginning Scene”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3fFmPEUag8 (just watch the first two minutes of this 3-minute clip)
I have always been a believer in the Great Man Theory.
Being apolitical, I think groups fighting over this/that/the-other -ists or isms is corrosive to achievement.
Nick Saban called such “energy vampires.”
The USSR had Korolev
The USA has Musk.
How you count money is immaterial.
Communism is a failure—but the Soviet Chief Designers led the Space Race.
Capitalism is a success—but Boeing is going under mostly due to profit-seeking…DEI just being a nail in the casket. Jack Welsh was a disaster—as was Proxmire.
Where Thomas Sowell didn’t think cultural aspects mattered…P. J. O’Rourke did.
That explained why Soviet Russia fell and China did not.
What the masses do is drag down the efforts of great men…political leanings notwithstanding.
Gary Hudson believed in the same things Elon did—but could not get any traction…he relied on others to make his dream of RLVs come true.
Here is an example of how a space advocate and investors spoke to one another in the Reagan 80’s:
VC:—————— “Blasted NASA blew up a shuttle.”
Entrepreneur:—-“You believe private efforts are better than government, right?”
VC:—————— “You bet!”
Entrepreneur:—-“As it just so happens, I’m a private—
VC:—-“Don’t waste my time, kiddo.”