Manifesto Score Case Study: JFK’s Moon Landing Speech

John F Kennedy, Rice University, Land a Man on the Moon Speech

Our third Case Study using the Manifesto Score…

Manifesto: Man on the Moon Speech – Original speech to a join session of Congress, May 25, 1961.
Created by: US President John F Kennedy
Source: https://geoffmcdonald.com/jfk-land-man-on-moon-speech-2/

Manifesto Score

YES Manifestos are primal: JFK’s speech was a manifesto declaring a new future.
YES Manifestos terminate the past: JFK’s speech declared an end to tyranny.
YES Manifestos create new worlds: Landing a man on the moon focussed an entire nation on a single goal.
YES Manifestos trigger communities: Whilst NASA existed prior to Kennedy’s declaration it was given a significant boost in funding, resources and personnel as a result.
YES Manifestos define us: As President he was speaking on behalf of and directly rallying the citizens of the United States of America.
YES Manifestos antagonise others: Communism and the Soviet Union in particular were JFK’s declared enemy – remember this was at the height of the Cold War.
YES Manifestos inspire being: His speech centred on ‘freedom’: “Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in freedom’s cause.”
YES Manifestos provoke action: The immediate purpose of JFK’s speech was to source funding from Congress which he achieved.
YES Manifestos crave presence: Armstrong and Aldrin stepping onto the moon was the result of thousands of people’s action and the culmination of the Moon Landing campaign.

Manifesto Score 9 out of 9

Score: 9 out of 9

Suggestions

Not much to suggest here. They covered all nine principles and best of all, they got the job done – footprints on the moon.

What do you think?

Is that score about right? Whilst it helps to be President of your country to make things happen, having all 9 manifesto principles covered played a part too.

More Updates

Mark Molony - Experience Expires

A few days after my first conversation with mindfulness teacher Mark Molony, he contacted me with a simple message: “I’ve had some more thoughts.” That message

Mark Molony - Experience is a Story

We often talk about learning from experience. But what if experience isn’t what we think it is? In this excerpt from my On Experience conversation with

Is my Experience Relevant with Mark Molony

You’ve spent years building your experience. But what if some of it is quietly becoming less useful? In this excerpt from my On Experience conversation with