'The Right Stuff' - that multifaceted quality of piloting skill, courage, experience, nerve and reflexes - was a term coined by Tom Wolfe. It describes the common attributes of the pilots who made the Mercury 7 space programme a success. The Mercury programme was a challenge of tremendous complexity and scale - any team facing a similar design challenge draws upon a mixture of experience, skill and personal qualities to face that challenge. Why do some practitioners fail to live up to their potential, while others perform far beyond our initial expectations? What qualities and behaviours enable teams to rise to the occasion? In this session I'll talk about the things I've learned building and leading design teams over the past 15 years and how there are echos from the themes of 'The Right Stuff'. It's aimed at practitioners and managers, with the goal of communicating some of the qualities and attributes I've found to be leading indicators of individual and team performance.

1. THE RIGHT STUFF
Matthew Ovington
Director of Design at MTT
@matthewovington Image source: NASA

2. COURAGE
COMPOSURE
REFLEXESRESILIENCE
DECISIVENESS
COMMITMENT
Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

3. ?

6. Image source: NASA

7. COMMITMENT
Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

8. Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
CAN YOU BE TOO COMMITTED?

11. DISINTEREST
MANIA
COMMITMENT
Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

12. CONFIDENCE
Image source: Life Magazine

13. CAN YOU BE TOO CONFIDENT?
Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

14. Image source: NASA
EMPATHY

15. Image source: NASA

16. CAN DESIGNERS LACK EMPATHY?
Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

17. SELF RESPECT
Image source: NASA

18. Image source: NASA

19. Image source: NASA

20. Image source: NASA

21. CAN SELF RESPECT BECOME ARROGANCE?
Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

22. Image source: NASA
DECISIVENESS
Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

23. Image source: NASAImage source: NASA

24. Image source: NASA
“All right. I’m cooler than you are.
Why don’t you fix your little problem
and light this candle.”
Image source: NASA

26. Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
CAN dESIGNERS BE RECKLESS?

27. Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
CENTRED

28. Image source: NASA

29. CHECKING OUT
Image source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

30. CONFIDENCE
DISINTEREST
MANIA
COMMITMENT
SELF RESPECT
EMPATHYDECISIVENESS
OVERCONFIDENCE
APPREHENSION
ENMITY
APATHY
ARROGANCE
DISCONTENT
RECKLESS
DITHERING
BEING CENTRED
DISILLUSION
CYNICISM

31. CONFIDENCE
DISINTEREST
MANIA
COMMITMENT
SELF RESPECT
EMPATHYDECISIVENESS
OVERCONFIDENCE
APPREHENSION
ENMITY
APATHY
ARROGANCE
DISCONTENT
RECKLESS
DITHERING
BEING CENTRED
DISILLUSION
CYNICISM