Fly Me To The Moon is an inspiring comedy-drama that will warm your heart, inspire you to do incredible things, and bring you the leadership insights you need to continue growing and becoming a better leader. Directed by Greg Berlanti and with writers Keenan Flynn, Bill Kirstein, and Rose Gilroy, the fictional story of how the United States beat Russia to the moon is hilarious yet insightful.
Scarlett Johansson stars as Kelly Jones, a marketing genius who is turning the advertising world upside down. When she is recruited by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson) to work for the White House and NASA, she meets Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), a moonshot flight director. Both of their worlds collide in a romantic way that goes south.
Kelly has to promote NASA and the Apollo 11 mission to the weary American public. They’re tired of waiting to get to the moon and its expenses. She has to find ways to market the NASA mission, maintain an incoming budget, and change the public’s perception. Along the way, she becomes part of the moon landing hoax conspiracy.
Viewers will discover insightful and impactful leadership lessons they can take to their organizations. Join me as we explore the leadership lessons in Fly Me To The Moon.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Fly Me To The Moon
1. Your problem may be multi-faceted:
The team Cole is leading detects an issue in a NASA facility. Dangerous hydrogen gas is leaking from one of the containers, and it could explode at any moment.
Cole rushes his team out of the room. He then heads back in to find the leak. Using The Broom Method, Cole sweeps over each canister until the bristles on the broom explode in flames. Cole then approaches the canister and turns the valve to turn it off.
The team is relieved. The danger is gone… Or so the team thinks.
After the cheering subsides, the canisters explode and Cole is blown backward. The problem was deeper than he thought.
We can quickly find the surface-level solution when we attempt to solve a problem. We see the problem is resolved. What we don’t see are the lingering issues.
Problem-solving is only effective if you can find all of the issues related to the problem you see. You have to dig deeper in case the problem is multifaceted and you’re missing the other issues.
2. Find the right pitch:
Kelly enters a marketing meeting with Zack Tanner (Chris Vroman), Phil Hunley (Todd Allen Durkin), and Neil Brown (Gary Weeks). The three men dismiss Kelly and her assistant, Ruby Martin (Anna Garcia). They don’t think women should be a part of the marketing decisions, especially pregnant women (Kelly fakes being pregnant).
The team was assembled to figure out a way to market the Ford Mustang. Kelly had the great idea of using the new seatbelts to market the car to men’s wives. Men would desire the speedy and masculine car, but their wives would be afraid. So, why not pitch something this muscle car had over others: safety features?
It was a great pitch. It was the right pitch.
How are you pitching new initiatives? How are you introducing new ideas?
Find the right pitch. Help people understand what makes your product or idea unique. Then market the heck out of it.
3. Our actions can lead to bigger issues:
Kelly was at a bar. She’s drinking her drink and looking at a book. Cole looks over and sees something’s not right.
Her book is on fire!
Cole informs Kelly of this. She doesn’t believe him at first. Then she looks and sees the book is on fire.
What does Kelly do? She takes her alcoholic drink and tosses it on the book. The book erupts into giant flames.
Her actions led to more significant issues.
We’ve all experienced this at some point. We think our actions will save the organization or change our team member’s opinion. When we act, we don’t get the reaction we think.
Instead, the organization’s finances continued to fall because we forgot to account for the costs of hiring new employees. Or a team member became offended because you insulted him.
Be aware your actions may cause a bigger issue. Make sure you’re taking the right actions.
4. Cole Davis:
You will be able to say that I have done the hardest thing.
Cole was talking to the team members who were helping with the Apollo 11 mission. He wanted to amp them up. His speech did just that.
What did Cole tell them? The mission was going to be hard. Maybe it even feels impossible at times. Yet, when they are finished, they can say they accomplished something hard.
Success isn’t easy. You and your team will have to work harder than you ever imagined. But when you finish the work, you will beam with pride. You accomplished the most challenging thing you’ve ever done and created something extraordinary.
Do the hard thing.
5. Cole Davis:
Not everyone likes to advertise.
Cole had taken Kelly to Canaveral Pier for dinner. At a local restaurant, Cole had Kelly try the lobster roll. The lobster roll was the best lobster roll she ever tasted.
This got Kelly to ponder why she had never heard of the place before. Cole’s answer? Some people don’t like to advertise. They serve their people and do it with a smile.
We can fall into the trap of thinking we have to advertise constantly. We must get on social media, run ads, and toot our horn.
What if there was another solution?
If we serve our customers, our customers will share their love for our businesses. They will share their experiences with friends, family members, and coworkers. Be so good that others will advertise for you.
6. Great leaders show others respect:
Kelly notices Cole going to the same spot every night. She asks Henry Smalls (Ray Romano) why he goes there.
Henry tells her it’s because he’s gardening, which Cole does. He plants and rearranges the flowers in front of the memorial to the tribute to the Apollo 1 crew (Edward White, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, and Roger Chaffee) who perished in a fire before actually launching. He feels grief and guilt over their deaths, but he also respects the men who perished. He wants to continue to honor their memory.
What are you doing to show respect to those you lead and those who came before you? While you may lead them, the work done by your people deserves your respect and recognition. You also have to recognize and respect those who came before you. Their hard work laid the groundwork for what you are doing today.
7. Cole Davis:
I don’t think our sad stories are supposed to teach us how to survive the world. I think they’re supposed to teach us how to change it
Kelly shares a version of how she grew up. Her dad leaves her mom and her alone. He never returns. Her mom then picks up a sales job but recognizes people will buy from cute kids. Cue her mom using her to sell the products she’s pitching.
Kelly believed her story showed people how to survive in the world. You make do with what you’re given. Cole saw a different lesson. Cole sees sad stories as a teaching tool to change the world.
Use the sad stories that have come before you to change yourself and your organization. You don’t have to survive. You can grow and change. Be the change.
8. Go the extra mile:
NASA needed the backing of multiple United States senators to secure funding for the Apollo 11 mission. They had contacted and secured votes from three senators: Senator Hopp (Gene Jones), Senator Cook (Colin Jost), and a third. When one of the Senators withdrew their support, they had to make a desperate attempt to gain the support of an unlikely Senator: Senator Vanning (Joe Chrest).
How did Cole and Kelly gain Senator Vanning’s support? Cole proposes they have dinner with Vanning and his wife, Jolene Vanning (Stephanie Kurtzuba). To do this, they had to go the extra mile.
Cole tells Kelly they’re flying a plane to the Vanning’s home. There, they secure the support of Senator Vanning by having dinner with the family and Cole sharing insights into his belief system.
We often stop short of going all the way. We feel like we’ve given everything or done what we could. What if we could squeeze just a little more out of ourselves and our organizations?
Go the extra mile. Send a thank you note, flowers, and a nice gift. Let people know how much you appreciate them. Share something special about a client or employee with their spouse.
Going the extra mile will get you the extra mile.
9. Cole Davis:
Whatever happens here today, I will stand by all your work.
Cole was involved in the Apollo 1 mission failure. He knew things had gone wrong, and he also knew things could go wrong for the Apollo 11 mission.
His employees had all put their best work forward. They did what they could and everyone believed in what they had accomplished.
Now, they had to wait and see what would happen. Would Apollo 11 be a success? What if it was a failure?
Cole let his team know he would stand behind all of their work. He would support them even if things didn’t go right.
Great leaders stand behind their team. They believe they’ve done what they needed to do.
If things went wrong, it wasn’t because of their team’s work. It was because of something else. They would have to find out what went wrong, but they wouldn’t throw their people under the bus.
10. Go off script:
Apollo 11 succeeded. Astronauts Buzz Aldrin (Colin Woodell), Neil Armstrong (Nick Dillenburg), and Michael Collins (Christian Zuber) successfully touched down. Kelly had prepared a script Neil Armstrong could use, but what he said was off-script.
Moe looked at Kelly. He said Neil’s quote wasn’t in the script. Kelly agreed. Then Moe said it was really good.
Going off script can produce great content. You know the audience, your team, and those around you. Use your knowledge of the situation to give your best effort. What you say is valuable and can last a long time.
