United CEO Scott Kirby tells Gen Z interns to ditch excuses—it’s a mantra he learned in Air Force training: ‘Figure out how to overcome it’

The next time you face adversity in your career—whether it’s a missed promotion, a difficult boss, or a deal that falls through— United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has a simple but effective mantra: “No excuses.” “Once you learn that, it’s 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?” he said in an Instagram post after a group of summer United interns which lessons have shaped his career and personal life.

It’s 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’s advice is less about avoiding adversity than how to respond when it inevitably arrives.

It’s a philosophy the 58-year-old first learned while training as a pilot in the U.S.

Air Force Academy—and one that was put to the test most publicly when he became United’s 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’s loyalty program as collateral.

He also took a 100% salary cut.

“You’re going to encounter challenges in business and in life,” he added as an Instagram caption.

“You can spend your time explaining why it happened, or you can spend your time figuring out how to overcome it.

I’ve always believed the second approach is better.” From mowing lawns and selling fireworks to leading a $60 billion airline giant 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.

“I 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,” Kirby told the East Valley Tribune in 2007.

“We sold firecrackers—and we nearly blew ourselves up!” After graduating from the U.S.

Air Force Academy in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and operations research, Kirby worked as a budget analyst at the Pentagon and later moved into the airline industry.