Sure, I loved Rudy (a boy’s dream about doing whatever it takes to play college football for Notre Dame), Rocky (an underdog pursuing his passion to box) and Braveheart (a man sacrificing everything to fight for freedom from the English oppressors), but Apollo 13 is my all time favorite because it portrays leadership and teamwork from not just one main character, but from many characters who contributes to accomplish impossible odds to bring the three astronauts back safely to their families. And I like “happy endings”.

My favorite line in the movie is when Apollo 13 flight director Eugene Kranz (acted by Ed Harris) yells out to the mission control staff that, "Failure is not an option…not on my watch”. 

Some questions to ponder:

When was your Apollo 13 moment?

What obstacles did you have to overcome?

Why weren’t you willing to give up?

Training to be prepared

The guys at the space program trained diligently. They ran countless simulations in order to train the flight crew to respond and adapt to different scenarios. Training has to be as real life as possibly. If the space simulators were not the same as the real spacecraft, the flight crew would make mistakes and worsen the situation. Training helps you be more prepared when things don’t go as expected.

The real thing is never what you trained

Flying to the moon is a complex endeavor.Many things could go wrong, and as the saying goes, “when it rains, it pours”. In Apollo 13, one problem creates a domino effect that initiates a series of other problems leaving everyone guessing. Whatever it is that you trained for, chances are that you would not have been trained for that exact same situation. If you are lucky, it would be similar to a past experience. It is important to train for a general problem solving approach rather than focus on procedures that are designed for specific situations.

Teamwork and leadership is key

In Apollo 13, there were not just one leader, but several. There were not just one team, but many teams working to bring the astronauts back home alive. Each team had at least one leader, and each leader stayed relentlessly focused on their task, unwilling and unwavering in their pursuit to return the spacecraft back to earth with everyone alive and intact. Being a team player means doing your part and giving all that you can. Being a leader means motivating your team, keeping your team focused on the most relevant things and giving your team what they absolutely need to get their job done.

Having passion and purpose

In Apollo 13, people were passionate about being in the space program. The astronauts had a life long dream to be among the few to walk the moon. When disaster stroke and the astronauts knew they would not land on the moon, it became clear that a more important purpose is returning alive to their families. Not everyday, will we fly an Apollo mission to the moon. It is important to identify purpose and find passion in what we do. Purpose gives us focus, while passion drives us to excel. When bad things happens, one after another, ask yourself, “What is your purpose and what drives that passion”. Once you have determined this, just like the Apollo 13 flight crew, set your course and don’t let anything deter you.