His very impactful keynote speech for our sales conference provided memorable insights on how to improve business performance. He shared management techniques and lessons learned from his successful missions to service Hubble and build the Space Station. Steve has the rare ability to make his remarks very personal even in a very large setting.
Steve Smith
Veteran Astronaut and Spacewalker, MBA, Diplomat, Board Director, Venture Capital Adviser
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Steve Smith
Biography
Steve Smith made an audacious childhood dream to be an astronaut come true despite multiple setbacks. He is one of America's most experienced astronauts with 4 spaceflights and 7 spacewalks to repair the Hubble Space Telescope and to build the Space Station. At the conclusion of his career he was the third most experienced spacewalker in history and he twice received NASA's highest honor, The Distinguished Service Medal.
Steve's path to space was long - three decades - and arduous. That path included a life-changing near-death experience as a youth, an MBA and two engineering degrees from Stanford, elite national athletics success, tenure as an IBM Product Manager, a medical rejection by the Air Force, four astronaut application rejections by NASA, and a medical rejection by NASA. He relentlessly pursued his childhood dream.
At NASA he was the first in his class named to a flight and quickly rose to the Deputy Chief Astronaut leadership position - the number two Corps' position - where he led the daily operations of the 125-member Astronaut Corps. He led multiple failure reviews, operations teams, and spacewalking crews. After his flight career, he served as a Diplomat living overseas for a decade and conducted NASA negotiations with European and Russian space agencies.
Steve now uses his one-of-a-kind mix of experiences to serve as a board director, venture capital advisor, and keynote speaker. He credits hard-won lessons learned and a resulting set of principles, which he calls the "explorer's mindset," for giving him the creativity, will, and grit to achieve his goal and succeed as an astronaut, decision maker, and leader. In his speeches he shares the magic of spaceflight and motivates audiences to use the explorer's mindset and practices to improve individual, team, and leadership performance in today's dynamic, fast-paced business environment.
Steve Smith
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LESSONS FROM SPACE TO ENHANCE YOUR LIFE AND WORK
Exploration is a dangerous and unpredictable endeavor. To cope with risky and dynamic environments, explorers rely on critical attributes such as creative thinking, resilience to setbacks, and perseverance. These attributes define the “explorer’s mindset.”
Steve Smith began dreaming of being an astronaut at age 7. Through nearly three decades of sheer determination, he overcame a near death experience and multiple rejections by NASA to become one of America’s most experienced astronauts and spacewalkers. He rode the space shuttle into space four times and went outside the shuttle seven times to perform spacewalks to repair the Hubble Space Telescope and to build the Space Station.
Early in life, Steve was inspired to adopt the tenacity and habits of iconic explorers. He applied that mindset to guide him on his long path to NASA and to succeed and survive as an astronaut. In this speech, Steve will reveal how individuals and teams can and must adapt the explorer’s mindset so that they thrive in today’s fast-paced, dynamic business environment. The presentation will help you:
- Appreciate the key attributes and habits of an extreme explorer
- Use the explorer’s mindset to improve your quality of life and work
- Learn to be confident seeking audacious goals
- Identify the key practices of a successful exploration team
- Jump start your team to be competitive in today’s business environment
LEADERSHIP AT 17500 MILES PER HOUR
Strong, effective leadership is a cornerstone of exploration ventures where leaders must make difficult decisions under pressure that carry risk to people’s lives. Leaders in the human spaceflight business process massive amounts of information in a complex, dynamic and fast-paced environment under the added constraints of budgets, stakeholders, schedules, and growing foreign and domestic competition. Business leaders face a similar environment in today’s global economy and they can benefit from exploration leadership techniques.
Steve Smith spent 28 years at NASA on both sides of exploration. He is one of America’s most experienced crew members and spacewalkers with four space flights and seven spacewalks. On Earth, he served in the number two leadership position in the Astronaut Corps, led multiple teams in development, failure investigation, and spacewalking, and was an overseas negotiator and Diplomat for 12 years in Europe.
Steve will describe the practices of leadership in the hazardous and dynamic field of human spaceflight. He will reveal how these practices can be used by business leaders on Earth so that they are effective in today’s competitive global business arena. The presentation will help you:
- Learn the prime practices by leaders in volatile, uncertain, and complicated exploration ventures
- Use the techniques of exploration leaders to improve your purpose-driven team’s cohesiveness, resilience, and success
- Understand the cornerstone philosophy that is common to exploration and business leadership
AN ASTRONAUT’S JOURNEY
DREAMS, RESILIENCE, AND EARTH’S BEAUTY
Steve Smith has traveled fast, really fast: Mach 25. That’s 25 times the speed of sound. He did it only after a three-decade effort to fulfill a childhood dream expressed in several of his colorful childhood drawings.
Along the way NASA rejected him four times and even rejected him permanently (or so thought NASA) by medically disqualifying him. He’ll describe what inspired him to continue and he’ll provide advice for audiences of all ages on overcoming disappointment and how to feel strong and inspired. Riding the rocket on four space missions, performing seven spacewalks, and traveling 16 million miles was magical and changed Steve’s persepctive.
Through his personal stories, gorgeous photos, and a passion and skill for sharing his space experiences, Steve reveals how spaceflight can be everything from joyous to serious to humorous.
Seeing our planet from a distance brought Steve both awe at its beauty and concern for its environmental fragility. He saw an island in a vast ocean. He will inspire us to be good to nature – and to each other.
The presentation will help you:
- Learn how to overcome obstacles at any point in your life
- Understand what it is like to ride a rocket and to live in the magic of zero gravity
- Laugh – life as an astronaut is humorous at times
- Appreciate how glorious Earth looks from space and the need to protect it
- Understand how seeing the Earth from space changes one’s view on peace, tolerance, and the earth as a global community
Steve Smith
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