Jason Kim ’99 - Inspired by Heroes, Moved to Lead

While a cadet at the Air Force Academy, Jason Kim ’99 experienced the “pedestal effect” and learned the importance of curiosity, compassion, trust and mutual respect.

 

SUMMARY

Jason Kim, a USFA class of '99 and CEO of Firefly Aerospace, discussed his leadership journey and experiences. He emphasized the importance of curiosity, compassion, and mutual respect in leadership. Jason shared his upbringing in Richardson, Texas, and his parents' influence. He recounted his time at the Air Force Academy, highlighting the humbling experience of being among top cadets and the value of building trust. Jason detailed his career path, including roles at Boeing, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman, and his MBA from UCLA. He stressed the importance of giving back to the Air Force Academy and the Space Force.

 

OUR FAVORITE QUOTES

1. "I think just being curious and being an active listener and asking questions and listening to other people, sometimes people want to vent, or sometimes people want to just be heard or have a voice, or some, most of the time, people just have good ideas."
2. "And so I would just say, just be curious, what did I miss? Did you miss something? Did we both miss something? If you get all those great ideas and you share it amongst different people from different backgrounds and walks of life, you don't miss as much, you know, and you're just bet off better off, you'll have a better solution."
3. "Building that trust, you know, with your your your teams, that's extremely empowering and motivating when you trust someone else, and they trust you, and you can go much, much further when you build that trust up."
4. "We got this drilled into us, and we didn't even know at the time how important it was. But you know, building that trust, you know, with your your your teams, that's extremely empowering and motivating when you trust someone else, and they trust you, and you can go much, much further when you build that trust up."
5. "And then the last thing I would say is, I think we were one of the first classes that had non commissioned officers alongside with AOCs that were there to teach us about mutual respect, about mutual respect between officers and non commissioned officers. And I think that went a long ways for for all of us, because, you know, once we went to the real Air Force, you know, we were going to lead a lot of officers and NCOs, and getting that kind of exposure early on was helpful, but also learning about mutual respect, that's something that is extremely important in any work setting that you're in."

    

    

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CHAPTERS

00:00:  Introduction and Background

02:24:  Welcome to Long Leu Leadership

07:42:  Early Inspirations and Motivations

10:56:  Discovering the Air Force Academy

16:00:  Memorable Experiences at the Academy

23:26:  Leadership Lessons Learned

26:32:  Leadership: Curiosity, Compassion, and Mutual Respect

28:14:  Startup Journey: Taking Risks and Minimizing Regrets

30:07:  Leadership Lessons: MBA and Personal Growth

32:05:  Startup Experience: Joining and Growing a Company

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