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The next time you face adversity in your career\u2014whether it\u2019s a missed promotion, a difficult boss, or a deal that falls through\u2014United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has a simple but effective mantra: \u201cNo excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you learn that, it\u2019s just so transformative to everything in life because then you pivot from feeling bad for yourself, feeling sorry for yourself, to how do I go overcome it?\u201d he said in an Instagram post after a group of summer United interns which lessons have shaped his career and personal life.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lesson many Gen Z may have already learned the hard way, having entered the workplace amid shifting workplace norms, waves of layoffs, and a particularly tough job market. But Kirby\u2019s advice is less about avoiding adversity than how to respond when it inevitably arrives.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a philosophy the 58-year-old first learned while training as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force Academy\u2014and one that was put to the test most publicly when he became United\u2019s CEO in May 2020, just as the pandemic was bringing the airline industry to a standstill. With U.S. passenger traffic plunging by 60%, United operating revenue fell by 64.5% in 2020 and the company posted a $7.1 billion net loss. Kirby was forced to slash flights, burn millions each quarter in cash, and even take out a $6.8 billion loan using United\u2019s loyalty program as collateral. He also took a 100% salary cut.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to encounter challenges in business and in life,\u201d he added as an Instagram caption. \u201cYou can spend your time explaining why it happened, or you can spend your time figuring out how to overcome it. I\u2019ve always believed the second approach is better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirby grew up in a middle-class family in a farming community outside of Dallas, Texas, and has said he never had a grand career plan but developed an entrepreneurial streak early.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always trying to earn money as a kid by mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, and, once I tried to start a company with a buddy,\u201d Kirby told the East Valley Tribune<\/em> in 2007. \u201cWe sold firecrackers\u2014and we nearly blew ourselves up!\u201d<\/p>\n After graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in computer science and operations research, Kirby worked as a budget analyst at the Pentagon and later moved into the airline industry. He joined American West Airlines in 1995 and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming president of U.S. Airways in 2006. Following U.S. Airways\u2019 merger with American Airlines in 2013, Kirby became president of the combined airline. He joined United as president in 2016 and was named CEO in 2020.<\/p>\n Above all, Kirby is a believer that self-confidence will lead you down a pathway toward success.<\/p>\n \u201cI also believe in self-fulfilling prophecies,\u201d he said. \u201cBy saying you\u2019re going to do incredible stuff, you make it a whole lot more likely that it\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n An additional core part of Kirby\u2019s leadership strategy has been surrounding himself with people who share his approach to work\u2014and who genuinely care about one another. When he was looking to strengthen United\u2019s pilot-hiring process, Kirby asked his head of flight operations to select a dozen well-liked pilots to help interview candidates.<\/p>\n \u201cI told this group of pilots, \u2018Your job is just to assess: Is this interviewee someone I would like to take a four-day trip with? And if you say no, then they\u2019re out. You get a veto vote,\u2019\u201d Kirby said in a recent interview with McKinsey.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is to pick people who care about others, who you want to hang out with, who you want to be with.\u201d<\/p>\n United has since emerged from the pandemic in a much stronger position. Its market capitalization is now roughly $41 billion, just behind rival Delta, at $60 billion. Fortune<\/em> reached out to United Airlines for further comment.<\/p>\n Kirby isn\u2019t the only business leader who believes adversity can be a catalyst for growth.<\/p>\n Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has similarly emphasized the role of humility in navigating crises.<\/p>\n \u201cOur motto is to keep climbing, and to always keep growing and keep learning and keep aspiring, and keep focused on where we\u2019re going,\u201d he told The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, adding that crisis\u2014whether the pandemic or the rise of jet fuel, \u201ccan make you stronger or they can make you fall back to the pack.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always tried through learning, through humility to try to take from whatever we\u2019ve encountered [and] become more resilient, become more differentiated, become more distinctive in how we deliver our service.\u201d<\/p>\n Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has taken a similarly counterintuitive view of adversity, arguing that having low expectations can actually make someone more resilient.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople with very high expectations have very low resilience\u2014and unfortunately, resilience matters in success,\u201d Huang said at Stanford\u2019s Graduate School of Business in 2024. \u201cOne of my great advantages is that I have very low expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n Huang added, \u201cI don\u2019t know how to teach it to you except for I hope suffering happens to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe CEOs of Delta and Nvidia agree: don\u2019t shy away from adversity<\/h2>\n