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 5...