|
|
HIGH VELOCITY LEADERSHIP
BRIAN K. MUIRHEAD & WILLIAM L. SIMON
'The Martian dust hadn't been stirred by a craft from Earth in twenty-one years. This time the challenge had come with nearly impossible constraints: go there at a fraction of the cost, do it in a fraction of the time, take risks but don't fail. We were working on a budget less than it would later cost to produce the movie Titanic, but unlike the movie we would need to provide a happy ending.
Our eftort, the Mars Pathfinder mission, has come to define the management approach of Faster, Better, Cheaper.'
So begins this roller-coaster ride -- a management book wrapped in a powerful, real-world adventure story. At age forty-one, Brian Muirhead assembled a team that would have to build a spacecraft and land it on Mars for one-twentieth the cost and in half the time of the previous Mars effort twenty years earlier.
Experts who were sure the team could not succeed were stunned on Independence Day 1997, when Pathfinder landed safely on Mars and, aided by its self-propelled, toy-wagon-size rover, Sojourner, began sending back reams of scientific data and thousands of breathtaking color photographs from a rock-strewn terrain under a salmon-colored sky.
In this fast-paced personal account, Muirhead and co-author William L. Simon explain how the Pathfinder team overcame the odds by discarding the familiar and replacing it with imaginative new technology, a highly unusual organizational structure, and a score of innovative business solutions ranging from the geography of the workplace to ways of speeding up procurement to an intuitive style of decision making on the run.
A chronicle of personal struggles and sacrifices that led to a historic triumph of space exploration, High Velocity Leadership provides powerful guidance on how Faster, Better, Cheaper can be put to work in your own organization.
EDITORIAL REVIEWS (referring to the o.p. hardcover edition):
Most of us think of the Mars Pathfinder mission as a triumph of technological wizardry. But Brian Muirhead, the engineer who spearheaded the project, sees it as something else: a triumph of managerial efficiency. The previous Mars mission had cost $3 billion. Muirhead, who was originally hired by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in part because of his real-world experience repairing Harley-Davidson motorcycles, had to do it for $150 million--less, he notes, than it cost James Cameron to film Titanic . The mantra at JPL was "Faster, better, cheaper." In an era of government belt-tightening, NASA had to prove to America that it could manage more spectacular space missions with less money, and in less time, too.
High Velocity Leadership shows how Muirhead and his team proved not only that "Faster, better, cheaper" can work but that's it an excellent way to get things done. He and coauthor Simon walk readers through the project from conception to triumphant completion, giving each chapter a didactic spin. For example, in one chapter he talks about how a manager must be both the "glue" that keeps a team together and the "grease" that keeps it moving forward.
But while Muirhead has learned a few textbook lessons about management--he quotes several gurus in that field--he has learned also from the school of hard knocks. Thus, every management principle described in High Velocity Leadership includes theory, real-life examples from the Mars Pathfinder mission, and a life lesson or two.
--Lou Schuler, Amazon.com
The astounding success of NASA's Pathfinder Mission to Mars in 1997 stirred the imaginations of countless observers back on Earth and sparked renewed interest in NASA's efforts to explore space. The mission was also remarkable because it was accomplished with a budget 15 times less, and in half the time, than that of the mission before it. In fact, it cost less than it took to make the movie Titanic ! Muirhead was the mission's project manager, who had a mandate to complete the project "faster, better, and cheaper"; and he brought to the task a unique blend of engineering know-how, self-assurance, and leadership skills. Along with writer Simon, who helped former Apple CEO Gil Amelio with On the Firing Line (1998), Muirhead provides a dramatic account of the enterprise as it evolved and unfolded. At the same time, the authors suggest that the "faster-better-cheaper" model can serve as a blueprint for leadership in any kind of business. The book is spectacularly "illustrated" with video clips on the Web.
"If you're looking for some fresh insights on how to manage engineering teams in this era of "faster, better, cheaper" projects, take a look at High Velocity Leadership."
"Provides leadership examples of performance excellence limited only by imagination that can be applied in any organization. This book should be read by all who want to use innovation to lead their organization. It works!"
-- Harold Reynolds, Assistant VP, McDonald's Corp.
"A saga of human boldness, ingenuity, and dedication. Not only did they succeed, they made it look easy, and this book leaves you asking the question `Why do it any other way?' Great book, great read."
-- Michael Griffin, Executive VP, Orbital Sciences Corp.
and Former NASA Chief Engineer
"Tired of reading boring business books? Brian Muirhead and Bill Simon take us on a high-risk management journey where the rules of managing and leadership derive from doing, not theory. A book filled with practical, as-It-happens, business wisdom."
-- Regis McKenna, President, The McKenna Group
"The dramatic story of Pathfinder reveals management innovation literally on the fly. High Velocity Leadership is teeming with Insights that apply to every business and every team endeavor."
-- Professor Noel Tichy, University Of Michigan Business School
From the project manager of the Mars Pathfinder Mission comes a guide to management that reveals the "glue and grease" principles he applied to hold the project together under intense pressure.
-- Ingram
YOUR FEEDBACK: (referring to the o.p. hardcover edition):
*****High Velocity Leadership
Brian K. Muirhead spins a great web of stories relating to the development and mission of the Mars Pathfinder. Against all odds regarding schedule and budget, he managed to keep his work teams focused on a shared vision towards a common goal. From initial proposal through early development into production and the actual mission, Brian and his team overcame obstacle after obstacle to make their dream of reaching and exploring Mars a reality. A must read for any manager of knowledge workers in the new global economy. The bible of faster, better, cheaper!
-- Fred G Reardon, Livermore, CA
January 31, 2000 (from Amazon.com)
****A Rare Book about a Planetary Probe
It is refreshing to see a book about one of NASA's unmanned successes. No wonder why the public is unaware of the JPL. This books gives a glimpse into the many obstacles Pathfinder had even before it left Earth. Muirhead tells the story in a very down-to-earth style. I was a bit disappointed in the frequent references into business applications on the "cheaper, better & faster" approach. At times it disrupted the flow of the book and gave an informercial taste to this book. I would also have liked a closing chpater on some of the scientific results of the little rover that gave us a very memorable Fourth of July in 1997. Overall, I recommend this tale of scientific exploration just because it gives the public information on space exploration that it wouldn't find elsewhere.
-- A reader from Valley Stream, New York USA
August 6, 1999 (from Amazon.com)
*****Great insight!!
So THAT'S how they build a spacecraft. Great insight into the process and a really amazing glimpse into the mind of the man who made it happen. Lessons that can be applied to nearly any business today. If you only read one business book this year, this is THE ONE.
-- A reader from Menlo Park, CA USA
May 16, 1999
*****A winner!
From a good business book, you expect to get ideas you can put into practice to be a better manager. From a good story book, you hope to get a story that carries you along. Getting both in the same book is rare and unexpected. A winner!
*****The Best
Brian Muirhead is good in front of an audience but it's even better here with the story told in full. This is the best management book I've read in years.
-- A reader from U.S. A.
May 11, 1999
*****GREAT STORY, GREAT IDEAS
What's so amazing about this book is that the management approaches they used to build the Pathfinder spacecraft so quickly and so inexpensively sound like ideas every one of us can use every day. Loved the story, loved the ideas. Fascinating and absorbing.
-- A reader from San Diego, California
May 10, 1999
*****TOO GOOD TO MISS
When is the last time you read a business book, read it all the way to the end, and wished it was LONGER? Even when you know that the Pathfinder spacecraft landed successfully on Mars, there is still a suspense all the way through, how will they overcome THIS problem, how will they overcome THAT one. This book is too good to miss.
-- waltinusa from California
May 5, 1999
*****beyond the normal...an oasis in a usually dry subject
This has to be the most valuable book I've read in ages. It offers fresh and extremely powerful management techniques. The theories are not just ivory tower meanderings....but, down-to-earth, practical ideas that proved themselves in the field for a manager in a high-pressure, high-power position. The author performs magic by making this very non-fiction work read with the same pace and style of a novel.
|
