NEW ORLEANS—Whether you work in an office or at home, you probably don’t think it has much in common with the space shuttle. Or does it? Mike Massimino flew the shuttle twice and believes those of us on the ground can learn a lot from the work ethic up there.

“Trust your team. You don’t do things alone. It’s very rare that you do things alone, and my team was there: my astronaut friends, the folks in the control center,” Massimino said in his April 29 Smarter Faster Payments 2025 keynote, sponsored by Wells Fargo. 

As a boy growing up on Long Island, Massimino longed to be an astronaut, and looked up to those who came before him. They included Alan Bean, who walked on the moon on Apollo 12, and gave Massimino a piece of advice he remembers to this day. 

“He told me that the key to being a successful leader, and a successful teammate, was to find a way to care for and admire everyone on your team.”

NASA culture taught Massimino many of the standards he lives by and encourages others to live by. 

“Everybody had a voice” at NASA and was urged to speak up, he said, whether they saw something of concern or had an idea. And no idea was “shot down,” but, rather, if it wouldn’t work, the reason why was explained. 

There was also no shame in reaching out for help at the space agency, something Massimino believes should be the case at every organization. He recalled working on the Hubble Space Telescope when he accidentally stripped a screw. A trip to the hardware store was out of the question, so Massimino turned to his team back on earth to devise a solution.  

“If you need help,” he said, “reach out to your mission control center.”

Massimino also maintains what he calls a “bank of good thoughts,” where he deposits all the positives about the folks he works with. Because occasionally you might have a conflict with that person. When you do, make a withdrawal from the bank of good thoughts and recall all the positives. 

After logging more than 570 hours in space, Massimino went on to appear as himself several times on TV’s “The Big Bang Theory,” and has taught at his alma mater Columbia University, among other accomplishments. But having been rejected for the space program three times before being accepted, he knows things aren’t always rosy. So he left conference attendees with a hopeful message that’s as relevant in the payments industry as it is for those wanting to go to space.

“Keep that big picture in mind when times get tough,” said Massimino. “Think of the people—your clients, your colleagues, your companies, your families—that are depending on the work you do.”