Steve Smith
- International Speaker
- Stanford MBA
- VC Advisor
- Veteran Diplomat
Steve Smith Speaker Biography
Steve Smith made an audacious childhood dream to be an astronaut come true despite multiple setbacks. He is one of America’s most experienced astronauts with 4 spaceflights and 7 spacewalks to repair the Hubble Space Telescope and to build the Space Station. At the conclusion of his career, he was the third most experienced spacewalker in history and he twice received NASA’s highest honor, The Distinguished Service Medal.
Steve’s path to space was long – three decades – and arduous. That path included a life-changing near-death experience as a youth, an MBA and two engineering degrees from Stanford, elite national athletics success, tenure as an IBM Product Manager, a medical rejection by the Air Force, four astronaut application rejections by NASA, and a medical rejection by NASA. He relentlessly pursued his childhood dream.
At NASA he was the first in his class named to a flight and quickly rose to the Deputy Chief Astronaut leadership position – the number two Corps’ position – where he led the daily operations of the 125-member Astronaut Corps. He led multiple failure reviews, operations teams, and spacewalking crews. After his flight career, he served as a Diplomat living overseas for a decade and conducted NASA negotiations with European and Russian space agencies.
Steve now uses his one-of-a-kind mix of experiences to serve as a board director, venture capital advisor, and keynote speaker. He credits hard-won lessons learned and a resulting set of principles, which he calls the “explorer’s mindset,” for giving him the creativity, will, and grit to achieve his goal and succeed as an astronaut, decision maker, and leader. In his speeches, he shares the magic of spaceflight and motivates audiences to use the explorer’s mindset and practices to improve individual, team, and leadership performance in today’s dynamic, fast-paced business environment.
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Speech Topics
LEADERSHIP AT 17500 MILES PER HOUR
Strong leadership is a cornerstone of the human space program where leaders make decisions that carry risk to billions of dollars of equipment and to people’s lives. The leaders process and use massive amounts of information in a complex and dynamic environment that is also subject to budgets, stakeholders, schedules, and competition. These are also the attributes of today’s business environment. Steve will describe the practices of leadership in the challenging space business and how the practices can be used by business leaders to be effective in today’s competitive, uncertain global business arena.
Steve Smith is one of America’s most experienced astronauts with 4 flights and 7 spacewalks. Back on Earth, he quickly rose to the number two leadership position in the Astronaut Corps, was selected to lead multiple equipment failure investigations and teams, and was a Diplomat overseas for 12 years serving as NASA’s negotiating liaison in Europe. As a leader in space and back on Earth, he used a collection of practices and attitudes called The Explorer’s Mindset™.
Takeaways:
- Key leadership techniques used in difficult environments
- How to improve your organizations’ cohesiveness, resilience, and success
- The Explorer’s Mindset™ attributes specifically for leadership in extreme uncertain times
THE EXPLORER’S MINDSET™: ACHIEVE AND BALANCE
Exploration is a dangerous business that requires taking risks and making very tough decisions. To cope with extreme environments and challenges, explorers draw on a particular set of attributes and habits that includes creative thinking, resiliency to setbacks, and perseverance. It’s The Explorer’s Mindset™.
Steve Smith first dreamed of being an astronaut at age 7. He pursued that dream with determination for nearly three decades despite multiple, serious setbacks until he became one of America’s most experienced astronauts and spacewalkers.
Steve used The Explorer’s Mindset™ to guide him on that difficult path to NASA and to survive and succeed as an astronaut. He will describe how individuals and teams can and must adapt the mindset to succeed in today’s fast-paced, dynamic, uncertain business environment. He’ll also provide useable advice on how to still maintain a balanced, joyful life.
Takeaways:
- An understanding of the mindset and practices of explorers
- Motivation to adapt the mindset to increase your professional and personal advancements
- Techniques to improve your life balance and joy while still advancing
AN ASTRONAUT’S JOURNEY: CHILDHOOD DREAMS TO RIDING ROCKETS
Steve Smith knows what it’s like to travel seven times the speed of a bullet at 17,500 MPH. He did it as an Astronaut but only after a 3-decade effort to get his first rocket ride and fulfill a dream expressed in childhood drawings. Along the way NASA rejected him 4 times and even rejected him permanently, or so NASA thought, by medically disqualifying him from applying. He’ll describe what inspired him to continue and how he became one of America’s most experienced astronauts and a leader in the Astronaut Corps. Steve will provide advice for all ages on thinking big, being creative, overcoming disappointment, and remaining strong and inspired.
Through the use of personal stories, gorgeous photos, and a passion and skill for sharing his experiences, Steve will describe how spaceflight can be everything from joyous to serious to comical. He’ll take you along on the ride. He’ll vividly describe the view of our planet from a distance and how that brought him joy for its beauty, but concern for its environmental fragility. He will inspire all to be good to nature – and to each other.
Takeaways:
- How to think creatively and to set big goals
- Skills to overcome obstacles at any point in your life
- Techniques to improve your life balance and joy while still advancing
- Have fun hearing about flying in space and seeing the Earth
