Skip to main content

Business Strategy Lessons From Apollo 13

Business Strategy Lessons From Apollo 13

Here are three lessons from the Apollo 13 mission that you can use to improve your strategic plan.

If you've seen the movie Apollo 13, you might remember that early in the crisis, Gene Kranz, the flight director, gives assignments to his engineers.  He cautions them to rely on data, telling everyone to "work the problem," and not make things worse by guessing.

Throughout the crisis, the astronauts and the team in Houston study the data, perform calculations, conduct simulations, observe the results and then calculate again.  They never guess when they don't have to - they obsess over data to ensure they understand the whole problem and the entire range of possible solutions.

Creating a great business strategy requires the same obsessive attention to data.  You have to base your solutions on statistically valid and comprehensive information about your company, your customers, your competitors and your industry.

Whenever you start a strategic planning process, every member of the planning team brings his own paradigms to the discussion.  People make assumptions based on their experience, anecdotes and "corporate urban legends" that exist in every company.

Generally, we've found that 80% of these assumptions are relatively accurate, but the rest are not.  That sounds like a good success ratio until you realize that if every executive is 20% wrong in her assumptions, then the team is seriously misaligned in their views of the current business situation. There's just no substitute for good data. It level-sets the team and equips them to make decisions with facts instead of hunches.

Another great lesson from Apollo 13 is how the engineers dove into the details to develop and implement solutions. One of my favorite examples is when they realize that they need a round air filter to fit into a square filter box.  They don't waste time discussing it theoretically - they simply gather up everything that they know is available to the astronauts in the spacecraft, and they build a prototype solution.  They hand-write detailed instructions about how to use a sock and some duct tape to solve the problem.  Then they radio the instructions to the astronauts who implement the solution. This situation models the second characteristic of a great strategy - your plans must be detailed enough so that everyone knows exactly what to do.  Getting very specific is challenging for a visionary executive team that's used to operating in the stratosphere. Some strategic plans fail at implementation because the strategy team doesn't agree on who will do what by when - and with which resources.

The movie "Apollo 13" depicts one last extremely important strategy lesson. The flight director knows his team faces huge risks and that the outcome is uncertain, but he refuses to water down the goal.  He doesn't say, "Wouldn't it be great if we could save the astronauts?" or, "Let's try to save two out of three." He says from the start that failure is not an option, and he deals with every situation assuming his team can overcome every obstacle.  He won't allow anyone to think otherwise. At one point, a White House representative asks the head of the Apollo program what he should tell the president.  The NASA chief gives a dismal assessment, saying, "This could be the worst disaster we've ever faced."

Flight Director Kranz overhears the comment, faces the two men and says, "With all due respect, I believe this will be our finest hour."  Let me ask you:  If the flight director didn't send this strong message to his team, if he showed any signs of doubt, do you think his team might have believed just a little less that they could save the astronauts?  Do you think the outcome could have been different? A great strategy is bold, clear and uncompromising; it energizes your whole company around significant and vital goals. And remember, your people want to be on a winning team - your strategy must convey that you are serious about beating the competition.

So there you have it - three lessons from the Apollo 13 mission that will improve your strategic plan. Remember to base your strategy on data, develop detailed action plans, and set goals that build excitement and conviction across your company.

Author: Ian Heller
Source Link

Popular posts from this blog

The 5 Scopes of Agile Planning

The 5 Scopes of Agile Planning The concept of planning within the agile methodology has often been misunderstood. Due to the commonly known statement "We value responding to change over following a plan" most of teams starting agile think that they will no longer need to plan for the future. Contrary to this popular opinion, planning plays just as big of a part in agile as it does in any other project management approach it is simply a little different. In its essence agile is built to cater the environments with constantly changing requirements and goals. Which means that the traditional planning model, of just setting something in motion at the beginning of the project, is no longer viable. Instead, the planning needs to cater to the changing circumstances and help the team navigate them in the best possible way. To achieve this, the agile planning is organized in different scopes, where each of them are equally important and carry value towards the end goal.   Fir...
Read more

The Eagle's Dynamic Strategy

The Eagle's Dynamic Strategy Business strategy is important as it can give you a competitive edge in securing clients over other companies who are pursuing the same business model. In order to develop that edge, you need to identify a competitive advantage and develop your business strategy around it. Once you have done that, you need to sustain that advantage. Simply put: Business strategy is the process that allows you to leverage, develop and sustain a competitive advantage over other companies targeting a similar market. The problem is sustaining that competitive advantage over time. Can you sustain your advantage? The problem is that we no longer do business in a bubble. Therefore, your competitive advantage can be enjoyed only for a short period of time. Modern business strategy must be a continuous process evolving with new competitive advantages. One must build their business on the basis of moving from one competitive advantage to another as smoothly as possib...
Read more

When the Business Negotiations is Over. What to Do?

When the Business Negotiations is Over. What to Do? The negotiation is over and done with (or at least this meeting that is a part of the negotiations is done with) and the negotiation styles and negotiating techniques have all been put away. Now you can go home, put your feet up, and relax until the next meeting. Hold on - it turns out that things really don't work that way. Reaching the end in a negotiation is when the work really starts. Do you know what you need to be doing now? What Was Achieved? The most important thing to realize is that you need to get together with your negotiating team as quickly as possible after the negotiation is over. Our memory of what happened starts to slip very quickly so speed is of the essence. One of the most important things to discuss is a review of whether or not you got what you wanted. If you had taken the time to define your objectives before the negotiations started, then you'll be well positioned to evaluate the outcome. ...
Read more