Captivated by Neil Armstrong's dramatic moon walk, children of the 1970s often imagined piloting their own spaceships or living on another planet. For individuals that followed those visions professionally, the dreams may have lost some of their luster over time, bogged down in the everyday challenge of designing spacecraft and managing programs that have now become main stream. Governmental bureaucracy, complex technical requirements and regulatory oversight have forced many in the space industry to accept a slower pace and a narrower scope of innovation possibilities. Yet some space pioneers are belying the complex and cumbersome characteristics that many believe are inherent in the industry. Their stories prove that innovation and speed-to-market are possible, even with a small budget. Quite simply, these pioneers are doing it – refuting prevailing "wisdom" with each successful launch. Though they vary in size, industry segment and origin, the four pioneers that we studied demonstrate tremendous similarity in four areas: - Safety – These teams work aggressively to identify, track, monitor and mitigate risks. The prevailing attitude is "never make the same mistake twice."
- Simplicity – They avoid over-engineered processes, technology and systems, favoring simple solutions instead.
- Reuse – They leverage proven technology that has already been vetted in other space programs, other business units or even other industries, which allows them to move faster and achieve higher levels of reliability.
- Focus – Perhaps the most prominent trait among these pioneers is the intensity of their focus. They are passionate about success, and tenacious about achieving it.
Within the space industry, we anticipate that the future competitive playing field will look much different than it does today. Instead of competing against a homogenous group of peers, established firms might face national programs with ready access to low-cost development and operational capabilities, or collaborative consortiums of smaller, faster niche players. How firms compete may change as well. Governments may fundamentally alter how they buy products and services – eliminating program-driven initiatives or outsourcing the responsibility for supplying particular capabilities to best-in-class providers. Although governments monopolize firms' client base today, the future client set may be more diversified – catering to academic researchers, commercial scientists or even consumers. To remain competitive amid this changing environment, companies need to find ways to reduce structural costs and act more nimbly. The experiences of the pioneering programs that we studied suggest six actions companies can take: - Develop capabilities, not RFP responses. Build a better balance between self-funded programs and programs tied to specific RFPs.
- Stop ignoring low-tech innovation. Simplify design, operations and business processes wherever possible.
- Focus on reuse. Remember that reusable ideas may come from outside the aerospace industry.
- Foster a startup mentality. Find ways to encourage creativity and facilitate nimble responses.
- Break up the monolith. Divide the organization into smaller components that can move more quickly.
- Strengthen the ability to share intellectual capital. Eliminate barriers that prevent sharing across operating units – and expand external collaboration capabilities.
Despite the inherent complexities of space travel, low-cost innovation and speed-to-market are happening today. To make that the norm, established companies may need to learn from the experiences of the pioneers that are doing it. |
