Visionary leadership – The man who sent us to the moon

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By Jerry Bellune
February 25, 2014

The man who sent us to the moon
Remember Oct. 4, 1957, the day Sputnik went up?
You may not have been alive then.
You may not even remember what Sputnik was.
It was the Soviets’ breakthrough into space.
A tiny satellite ushered in the Space Age.

It was chilling for Americans.
We had thought we led the world in technology.
We thought the Soviets lagged far behind us.
Overnight, they had leaped into the lead.
It took the Cold War to a new height.
And it spurred us into action.

The U.S. quickly regrouped to launch its own.
That was within a remarkable four months.
But we were still playing catch-up.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1959.
He took office on a freezing day in January 1960.
A year later, he challenged the nation’s scientists.
He called on them to put men on the moon.
Even more importantly, to return them safely to earth.
His deadline: Do it in by the end of the decade.
Three leadership lessons in this story:

Lesson #1. Pose a bold, innovative vision.
Not just put a satellite in orbit.
Travel safely to the moon and back.

Lesson #2. Make it a goal with a specific deadline.
He gave them less than 10 years to do it.
By the end of the decade. 1969.

Lesson #3: Make it exciting and inspiring to others.
A goal so large will galvanize imaginations.
We were rolling the dice or major money.

Think about that. What’s your 10-year goal?
Is it bold and innovative enough?
Is it specific in what it strives to achieve?
Is it so crystal clear that it will it excite others?

Kennedy did not live to see his vision realized.
He was gunned down in Dallas Nov. 22, 1963.
He provided the inspiration to do it on July 20, 1969.
That day, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon.

Want to learn more leadership secrets?
Our “Visionary Leadership” seminar may be for you.
It will be March 28 at the West Metro Chamber.
Email me for details at [email protected]

Next: The right leader at the right time.
©2014 The Bellune Company, Inc.
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