Jeff Appelquist facilitates an amazing experience based on the myriad leadership lessons from the legendary Apollo space program. We will study three specific missions: Apollo 8, which orbited the moon at Christmas-time, 1968; Apollo 11, when human beings first set foot upon the moon in July 1969; and Apollo 13, in 1970, when technical problems (“Houston, we’ve had a problem”) almost resulted in disaster. The leadership lessons from these great American adventures are abundant and unforgettable.

Participants fly into Houston, Texas, and the meeting begins that afternoon. Day One sets the stage and focuses on the importance of common purpose. The theme for Day Two is “rocketing into the unknown.” Participants spend the bulk of the day at the Johnson Space Center, exploring firsthand and in detail everything about NASA and the daring Apollo missions. That evening, before dinner, we will hear a keynote from an actual NASA astronaut. On Day Three, we encourage participants to engage in “moonshot thinking.” We challenge our teams to establish stretch goals, both personal and professional. John Kennedy said of the space program, “We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”