Former NASA Astronaut, NY Times Bestselling Author; Media and TV Personality; Columbia University Professor
The first person to tweet from space and a four-time spacewalker on two missions to the Hubble Space Telescope, including the final Hubble servicing mission, which has been called the most dangerous and complex mission in space shuttle history, Mike Massimino uses humor and his unique storytelling ability to inspire audiences to identify the passion in their work, to use teamwork and innovation to solve problems, to provide leadership in the face of adversity, and to never give up when pursuing a goal.
Mike Massimino is a four-time spacewalker on two missions to the Hubble Space Telescope, including the final Hubble servicing mission which has been called the most dangerous and complex mission in space shuttle history. But he is more than an astronaut — he is a recurring character on The Big Bang Theory, a bestselling author, an engineering professor, an MIT Ph.D, and a popular guest on news and late-night television programs.
Mike uses humor and his unique storytelling ability to inspire audiences to identify the passion in their work, use teamwork and innovation to solve problems, provide leadership in the face of adversity and change, and never give up when pursuing a goal. Mike has written 3 books including his NY Times bestselling memoir Spaceman, and his most recent book Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible which distills stories and insights from NASA into an actionable guide for success in business and in life.
Mike is clear, “We all have our own personal “moon shots” we’d like to take in life, but as mission control will tell you, doing one big thing really means getting a thousand little things right along the way.”
Mike Massimino on Recognizing the Purpose in Your Work
Mike Massimino on Having Persistence When Pursuing a Goal
Mike Massimino on Accepting Organizational and Technological Change
Mike Massimino on Resilience in the Face of Adversity
Mike Massimino on Recognizing the Purpose in Your Work
Introducing Mike Massimino
Mike Massimino – Media Highlights
Mike Massimino on Water Survival
Mike Massimino on An Astronaut’s View of Space
Mike Massimino on Following Dreams and Setting Goals
Mike Massimino on Teamwork and Never Giving Up
Mike Massimino’s Speech Topics
Be Ready for the Future: Change Is Inevitable, Accept and Embrace It
Companies go through reorganizations and changes to grow their business and prepare for future opportunities in the changing marketplace. Often these transformations are met with resistance by team members who are happy with the way things are, but leadership needs to clearly communicate the benefits of these changes to gain buy-in. Mike relates changes in the space program to changes in today’s business world. During his career, NASA pivoted from working independently to embarking on global partnerships with the space faring countries of the world including Russia, and commercial partnerships with private space companies. Leadership made it clear that although many would be uncomfortable with these changes, they were needed to secure the future of space exploration, improve international relations, and stimulate a new space economy. Mike encourages audiences that although they may have an initial reluctance to accept change, they should embrace it as an opportunity for future greatness and success.
The Team’s Success is Your Success: You Cannot do this Alone, You will Succeed or Fail as a Team
An organization’s goals are only obtainable if everyone on the team works together. Individual accomplishments are needed, but the success of the team is most important. In our complex world, not everyone can be good at everything. But by pooling our abilities, we can be good at everything as a team. Mike conveys how he and his colleagues worked together with a culture of admitting mistakes and bringing forward concerns without worry of embarrassment or finger pointing. Providing help to teammates was not considered to be a burden, but rather a way to make the team stronger. When Mike broke a critical piece of equipment while repairing the Hubble Space Telescope during his final spacewalk, his team was there to help. Rather than blaming Mike, the ground control team and the astronauts in space worked together with him to come up with an innovative solution that saved the day and the mission. Although not every problem has an obvious solution, teamwork can help us with overcoming unforeseen challenges. Mike communicates to audiences how the NASA models for teamwork and leadership can be applied to the business world and in life. When you need help, reach out to your own “Mission Control Center,” and be “Mission Control” for others.
Being Resilient and Adaptable in Challenging Times: When You Think All Hope Is Lost, Find Another Way Around
Sometimes forces out of our control can make moving forward difficult. In spite of our best efforts we often get knocked down repeatedly. But we need to find a way around that next obstacle. Mike encourages audiences: When the odds are against you, do it anyway. Mike’s dream of becoming an astronaut began when he was six years old watching Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon. The path to achieving this dream was wrought with unexpected challenges, failures, disappointments, and self doubt. Mike was rejected three times by NASA including a medical disqualification which Mike overcame by teaching his eyes and brain to “see better.” His persistence paid off when he was selected to be an astronaut on his fourth try. This same resilience was needed after earning his astronaut wings to persevere through the setbacks, tragedies, and technical challenges that Mike experienced in his astronaut career. Mike stresses that as long as you keep trying, no matter the obstacles, achieving a goal is possible.
Gaining that Competitive Edge: Accepting AI and New Technology in the Workplace
AI and new technology is all around us. It can be intimidating. But it can also provide opportunities for growth and improve our decision making. The Space Shuttle was a manually controlled spacecraft. Very little computing power was available and astronauts and flight controllers were responsible for operations and decision making during high stakes situations. In today’s spaceships, AI performs many of the decision making tasks previously done by astronauts. But the path getting there was not easy as astronauts were accustomed to being in total control of their spacecraft. The road to acceptance was through demonstrated benefits such as increased safety, improved performance, and reduced training time. Mike encourages audiences to embrace new technologies and AI to give them the competitive edge they need in meeting the challenges of a dynamic and uncertain world.
Innovating for an Uncharted Future: Make Your Workplace a Laboratory Where Everyone Has a Voice
In the challenging world in which we live and work, the problems we face are complex. Growing our businesses in an uncharted future requires innovation. Mike found that innovation at NASA came through diversity of thought, and everyone having a voice. If everyone thought the same way we would have never landed on the moon. To prepare for their spacewalks, Mike and his team trained in the largest pool in the world – The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. At first Mike was confused as to why the facility was called a “laboratory.” A more appropriate name seemed to be “really big pool.” But after time, Mike realized that it was a laboratory – a place where innovative ideas would be put forward and tested. During a training session, if the team could figure out a way to save even one minute of spacewalking time it would be a significant accomplishment. And everyone had a voice, including the new people. Not all ideas were good, but leadership never crushed those ideas. They responded with “thank you” and “keep bringing ideas forward.” Because once you crush an idea, the person is likely to stay silent in the future, and the team will not get the useful idea when it eventually comes. Mike is clear: innovation is only possible when a diverse group of people exchange ideas and everyone has a voice. Mike shares examples of how this approach worked when he was a rookie, and when he was the leader of a team trying to uncover innovative ways to meet current and future challenges in space.
What other organizations say about Mike Massimino
The feedback we got from the work you did at our meeting was rated higher than anything we did, and it wasn’t even close. The message you delivered — the tone of never giving up, team culture, perseverance and overcoming challenges – still resonates this week in conversations I have had with people. ‘I used my 30 seconds, I got over it and we have to move on.’ I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that.
Medical Equipment
What other organizations say about Mike Massimino
I wanted to thank you for your contribution to our sales meeting — your talk was the highlight of the meeting for all in attendance. It is always great for me to see an individual like yourself with an incredible resume and unique life experiences who is still incredibly humble and down to earth (pardon the pun). You fit in perfectly with our company values.
Medical Equipment
What other organizations say about Mike Massimino
We have gotten an incredible amount of positive feedback about your talk, and to say you “delivered” would be a complete understatement. Thank you for helping to inspire my team to be at their best with this amazing advancement for myeloma patients…for helping Janssen Oncology to DREAM BIG and GO FAR.
Health Care
What other organizations say about Mike Massimino
We wanted to personally thank you for joining us yesterday. It was truly a pleasure to have you as the keynote speaker for our inaugural client roundtable event. Your anecdotes and engagement with our audience were delightful and set an incredibly positive tone for a very enjoyable dinner. We are sincerely appreciative that you stayed for the entirety of the event and do hope that you enjoyed your time with us. Thank you also for the personalized books, as we are certain that our attendees will take pleasure in reading about your story of resilience in achieving what you had aspired to be at a very young age. Thank you, Mike, for going above and beyond (it was out of this world!)
Financial Services
What other organizations say about Mike Massimino
He was awesome! Mike is a great person and his presentation was very inspiring.
Food
What other organizations say about Mike Massimino
Mike was absolutely phenomenal. His presentation was engaging and he hit on every point we discussed in our planning calls. I have had several attendees come up to me to tell me that he is the best speaker they have ever heard. You know the audience is engaged when you have two open bars set in the back of the room and not one person gets up to get a drink! He also spent so much time after his keynote talking to our attendees and taking photos, so I truly appreciate him going the extra mile for us. I am truly not exaggerating when I tell you that he was the highlight of our retreat and every single person I have spoken to has commented on what an outstanding job he did.
Legal
What other organizations say about Mike Massimino
Mike was really great to work with and just some amazing stories and we’re bummed our clients couldn’t meet him in person, but we think this is the next best thing. Sort of like him talking to us from space. Many of his stories are very topical to what we are all going through right now including the quarantine astronauts go through before going into space and the isolation even in space being disconnected from the world. The story of teamwork with his fellow astronaut classmates was especially powerful for me- this idea that we win or lose together. A great reminder that we’re all in this together right now. And I enjoyed his story about needing to both accept change and anticipate change in the same moment. You have 30 seconds of venting, ranting, or feeling sorry for yourself- and then you move forward. Because the only constant is change. Really powerful! Please thank him for us.
Financial Services
What other organizations say about Mike Massimino
Mike is so inspiring, motivational, and GENUINE!!! His stories are amazing! I could listen to him all day! It was truly a hit with our audience. Please thank Mike on behalf of the entire team. I hope we get to work together on another event in the future.
