What can an astronaut teach entrepreneurs about business?

“Always expect the unexpected,” NASA legend and Apollo 13 commander James A. Lovell told participants at the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum. Calling the Apollo 13 mission “a classic case of crisis management,” Lovell said the characteristics that transformed the crisis into triumph were the same as those entrepreneurs use to manage their businesses: leadership, imagination, perseverance and motivation.

With his fellow astronauts and Mission Control in Houston, Lovell guided Apollo’s malfunctioning lunar module 200,000 miles back to earth after a failure of the electrical system drained its oxygen tanks and shut down its major systems. After overcoming numerous obstacles, Lovell and his crew landed the craft safely in the Pacific Ocean. "You'll be surprised at how quickly you can learn when you're in a tight spot," he said.

 

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