There is a scene from the movie Apollo 13 that has stuck with me. Chaos has broken loose as the team of engineers debates the best way to get the astronauts back to earth. Loren Dean playing John Aaron snaps clarity from the jaws of chaos by pointing out that any chance of survival hinges on maintaining battery power, which is quickly waning.

It is an exchange that is short and sharp, but you can tell that very quickly the focus has shifted to absolutely the right area.

The reason this stands out for me is that it is an example where the person who actually has “the answer” is able to convey it to others, and the others are actually listening. This is a phenomenon that I would suggest is rarer than it should be. Understandably, it is tough to replicate because it demands that:

1 – there is an absolute answer;

2 – someone actually knows it;

3 – others listen; and

4 – others believe the person who is telling them the answer.

I hope to focus this blog on examples when the (objectively) correct information makes it through. Yes, there will be times that it doesn’t, and we can certainly discuss those, too. I hope to find a suitable tag/title for this moment; something like “moment of truth,” maybe M.O.T. The quest for the John Aaron moment is on!

Tagged as: Apollo 13, authority, expertise, Negotiations

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