Out of This World

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What to expect

Find out how NASA creates and leads stellar teams and how you can bring Mission Control leadership to your organization.

Failure is always an option...

For more than 50 years, NASA's Mission Control has been known for two things: perfect decision making in extreme situations and producing generations of steely-eyed missile men and women who continue that tradition. A key to that legacy of brilliant performance is a particular brand of leadership, especially at the working level in Mission Control.

Take the ultimate insiders look at the leadership values and culture that created the best team on this planet. Paul Sean Hill was responsible for NASA's Mission Operations support for manned space flight from 2007-2011. In this candid book he shows that the secret to Mission Control's success has never been rocket science and that the real practice of perfect decision making can be applied to any organisation or team. By demonstrating how his Mission Control team nurtured a culture which has delivered impossible wins for decades, Hill provides a guide for all leaders to boost their company's performance at all levels.

Whether failure means cost and schedule overruns, quality reduction, loss of market share, bankruptcy - or putting someone's life a risk, how we lead can determine whether even small mistakes are dealt with or are left to snowball out of control and destroy an enterprise. Discover how to take leadership from the Mission Control Room to your boardroom and beyond, and achieve this out-of-this-world leadership environment in your team.

(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

  • Compelling. It is adherence to principles like those at Mission Control that helps prevent something slipping by that could bankrupt the company or wipe out previous accomplishments.

    Forbes
  • Former NASA flight director Paul Sean Hill tells the true story of the game-changing transformation of Mission Control’s senior leadership team. Hill’s candor and intensity makes this a fascinating read for every leader!

    Ken Blanchard, co-author of 'The One-Minute Manager'
  • Filled with fascinating insights, every leader will find parallels to their own organization. A must-have for anyone leading a high-performance team and an invaluable addition to any business library.

    Marshall Goldsmith, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller 'Triggers'
  • This is an arresting work. No leader or manager can fail to benefit from the lessons captured here.

    Michael D. Griffin, NASA Administrator, 2005-09 and Schafer Corporation CEO
  • Hard-won lessons for business executives and leaders who want to learn from the best team on the planet. This book, like its author, is one-of-a kind.

    Mary Lynne Dittmar, President, Coalition for Deep Space Exploration and former member, Human Spaceflight Committee, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
  • This engaging book tells the story of how NASA’s renowned Mission Control evolved into an extraordinary team that directed many of the world’s greatest technical triumphs. Leaders from every organization will benefit from these vital lessons.

    Walter E. Natemeyer, Chairman and CEO, North American Training and Development

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