Lessons on life and business from an astronaut

The attitude towards space in Russia is very special. It involves childhood dreams, pride for our country and its achievements in space. Astronauts are perceived as heroes, capable of spending months in a confined environment, bear physical challenges and perform complicated technical tasks in open space. Setting the myths and legends aside, it is still a very complicated job - living and working on the ISS (International Space Station) requires a very specific preparation: physical, psychological, intellectual, emotional.

Issues that an astronaut faces are similar to those that managers and businessmen face on a daily basis. Sergey Ryazanskiy shares an astronaut’s approach to solving such acute problems as: right motivation, teamwork, working under constant pressure, developing corporate safety policies, self-development and self-improvement

Part 1 Leadership and motivation

• Each and every one of us sometimes feel that we are in a dead-end situation and we come to think: “What is the solution?” or “What is the way out?”

• Searching for motivation. Why do we need to go to “space”?

• Setting goals and aims correctly

• Difference between being a “leader” and being a “manager”

Part 2 Space team

• Building up a team. Distributing responsibilities

• Working with a team “imposed” from above

• Positive atmosphere and why it is crucial to control one’s emotions

• Socialization. Being a team is not just working together

• Cosmic negotiators. Conflictology

• Debriefing as a major factor in any team’s success

• Team responsibility

Part 3 Space safety

• Safety is not just following rules, it’s a way of thinking

• Concept of predictable risks

• Safety of a mistake. We are not robots

• Following rules and instructions when there is a lack of formalities

Part 4 Personal growth

• Ability to learn is a key factor of modern person’s success

• Ability to prioritize

• Time-management (How not to drown in one’s own routine)

• Fighting procrastination: how to do things you don’t really want to do

• Emotional exhaustion and how to prevent it

• Physiology of decision making