He was highly skilled, technically, but also arrogant and confrontational, the kind of person who regularly swore at me, berated me and told me in no uncertain terms that I was a bumbling fool. I started to dread interacting with him, and when he dressed me down in front of Mission Control, I wanted to lash back, make my case in a legal manner, enlist supporters and try to convince them I’d done nothing wrong—everything about him just rubbed me the wrong way, professionally and personally. Then I realized: Wow, he’s really effective. This is his way of competing—trying to terrify and belittle
...more
