No way can you ever, ever, ever evidence confusion, concern, lack of understanding. You have to be in charge. You are the guy. You have to be cooler than cool, smarter than smart.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of confidence and clarity in leadership roles.
Gene Kranz underscores the necessity for leaders to project certainty and control in challenging situations. By asserting that one must never show confusion or lack of understanding, he highlights the expectation for leaders to exude confidence, intelligence, and composure, which fosters trust and guidance in their teams.
In practice
In a team meeting, to inspire confidence when discussing a challenging project.
There's an awful lot of future out there, and what you got to do, is you go to out and grab it, wrestle it to the ground, accept the challenges, and then decide. You've got the skills. You've got the knowledge. You've got the love, and you're capable of moving forward and making a great life yourself.
I did everything by the numbers. I had checklists upon checklists. If I wasn't ahead of everybody on my team, I didn't feel I was doing my job.
You can not operate in this room unless you believe that you are Superman, and whatever happens, you're capable of solving the problem.
I was the most emotional of the flight directors. Space really got me all honked up.
I just felt that space was the next thing coming in aviation. It was higher, faster. It had the risk.
We've never lost an American in space, we're sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option.
If a President of the United States ever lied to the American people, he should resign.
A chief is a man who assumes responsibility. He says 'I was beaten,' he does not say 'My men were beaten.'
A government must not waiver once it has chosen its course. It must not look to the left or right but go forward.
If the United Nations does not attempt to chart a course for the world's people in the first decades of the new millennium, who will?
Pessimism is a losing strategy. Leadership demands both confidence and optimism in abundance.
No one will ever say Dwight Clark was selfish.
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