APOLLO
13
-
Business Lessons
“Houston,
we have a Problem”.
Astronaut
Jim Lovell’s words began a living drama and a critical problem solution methodology that is used today in business as it is
in space.
On
April 11, 1970, a roar of smoke & fire marked the blast off toward the Moon
of three Astronauts aboard their Apollo 13 spacecraft. Two
days later, a crippling explosion left them in a life or death situation. How
would the NASA astronauts and engineers fix their craft that was 250,000 miles
into space before the power ran out and the astronauts froze to death? The
world held its breath.
The
1995 Hollywood film “Apollo
13” graphically recounted the space mission that became “a case study in
problem-solving, a drama of solution-finding ….”1
Though
not an Astronaut, I was a fighter pilot and test pilot in the US Air Force, and
we also employed that effective Problem Analysis & Solution Methodology in
systems development & for airborne emergencies. I continue to use this
same methodology in businesses. One evening after I retired, I was
watching the “Apollo 13” film with my kids, and part way into the film I
leaped out my chair and grabbed a clipboard. We restarted the movie, and I
began scribbling furiously, and explaining to my kids just what we were seeing.
I’ve
summarized below the Apollo 13 problem
solution principles as the mnemonic: “A P O L L O P R O B L E M”
to
help you remember them.
The
Problem Solving Method
Summary
(click for full detail)
A
ASSIGN talented,
capable, experienced, and effective people to Leadership, Tasks & Projects. NASA
had the ‘brightest & best’.
P
PREPARE for
the two kinds of inevitiable problems that will occur with your equipment and
with processes. The normal,
ANTICIPATED problems, and new, UN-ANTICIPATED situations or system failures
which have never come up before. But,
even the ‘unknown problems’ can still be prepared for with capable people,
extensive system knowledge, and the proper problem solving methodology.
O
OUTCOME. When
any problem comes up, you must
define the desired final outcome: Business
as usual by following a standard, procedural solution to the problem, or,
a new or adapted mission outcome. The
Apollo 13 mission to the Moon was scrubbed, and a NEW,
revised Outcome was to just return the 3-man crew safely to Earth.
L LESSONS LEARNED. Previous failures and known weaknesses are very valuable. Besides comprehensive Systems knowledge and “SOP’s”, a feedback loop is essential to help improve “error-prone’ processes & identify resources to prevent or handle re-occurrences. Ignoring weaknesses or problems is “Business by Wishful Thinking”.
L
LIMITATIONS. To
be able to solve problems, you must know the performance and the limitations of
those systems. ‘Metrics’
must be measured and monitored. The Apollo 13 parameters were the driving force in the solution to bring home the
Astronauts.
O
OBSERVATION. Once
a problem comes up, Don’t Act - Stop and Pay Attention!
The actual details are
very important. Sherlock
Holmes never developed ‘theories’ until he had investigated all of the data.
Neither did NASA. That
careful observation kept them from false lines of reasoning.
Gene Kranz, the Flight Director warned, “Let’s
not make it any worse by Guessing.”
P
PROCESS the Data. Pump
your brain & your Team. Brainstorm.
Kranz
employed several aspects of the “outside
the box” Solution-Process to create a replacement CO2 filter
for the space module. Including: “Put
your hands on it”. Write
it all up on the board. Discuss it.
And also make non-standard uses
of items or processes. “Dump
it all on the table,” he said.
R
REVIEW ALL
ASSUMPTIONS.
e.g.
the weight of Apollo 13 - they initially overlooked that there were no
moon rocks on board! As
the ground crew evaluated the shallow flight trajectory of Apollo 13, they
questioned their assumptions. This
‘metric’ was critical, since the spacecraft would “skip off the
atmosphere”.
O
ONE BEST
SOLUTION. Using
“Observation” and “Processing the Data” above, develop the Solution that
works for your situation in the time frame that you have available. The
Solution is hard work even for the imaginative; and it is arrived at by observed
details, excellent knowledge, flexibility to new perspectives, and most of all
– methodology.
B
BLUEPRINT. Now
write down in sequence all
of the required Actions for
the solution so that you won’t forget a critical element.
Both the NASA ground crew and the astronauts wrote down the new
Procedures and steps. Don’t
“Wing It”.
L
LEADERSHIP is
essential in all “Project Management” problems.
The leader must show confidence that his team will develop a solution
using all of the resources that are available.
when others began to doubt, Gene Kranz, the Flight Director, was
unswerving in his confidence that his talented NASA team would return the
Astronauts safely to Earth – “this
will be our finest hour.”
E
EXECUTION of the
Solution. Having developed and
documented the One Best Solution, the whole Apollo 13 team began to implement
that complex solution Step-by-Step. But
you must be attentive and responsive to follow-on problems, or even errors or
inaccuracies in execution. The final
rocket motor burn wasn’t precise, but with corrections throughout the burn, it
was good enough.
M
MOXIE.
The whole flight
& ground crew showed their Perseverance, Determination, and Confidence -
Regardless of the difficulties.
…
Don't EVER give
up. Don't EVER
lose hope.
“Failure,
my friends, is not an
option.”
Astronauts and Business Professionals all encounter important & complex
problems
requiring imaginative solutions and effective implementation.
That’s why it’s important to have the proper people assigned, to know
how to analyze problems, and to find & implement effective solutions.
So
even for business, use the ‘space-proven’
APOLLO PROBLEM Methodology.
(click for full
detail)
Sometimes the life of astronauts is at stake;
sometimes the life of
your company is at stake.
______________________________________________________________
1.“Failure
is Not an Option: Apollo 13 Creativity”, Margaret
J. King, Ph.D.,
#236 from R&D
Innovator Volume 5, Number 9, September 1996. http://www.winstonbrill.com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/201-250/article236_body.html
*by
Ike Sweesy, Ike@Company-V.Com.
www.Company-V.Com, www.FighterPilots.Net
