This book is about Skunk Works – a small department inside Lockheed Martin, which is known for its unique approach to work.
The secret souse is the tight integration of the engineering team with production. The engineering team is small, but all the engineers are top-notch and work without bureaucracy and paperwork.
The most important thing for me is the style and methodology of the engineering process. Good story about the development of U2, Blackbird (my favorite aircraft, by the way), and F-117, plus some politics as a nice bonus.
It is also interesting to get to know the personalities of legendary Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich, the people who respond to the challenges and put everything into what they believe in.
A couple of quotes from the book:
Over the years we had developed the concept of using existing hardware developed and paid for by other programs to save time and money and reduce the risks of failures in prototype projects.
Despite the fact that the engineers were creating completely new, revolutionary aircraft, the ideology of Skunk Work dictated the maximum use of existing parts that have already been tested and are available.
“riot act”—ten basic rules we worked by. A few of them: “There shall be only one object: to get a good airplane built on time.” “Engineers shall always work within a stone’s throw of the airplane being built.” “Any cause for delay shall be immediately reported to C. L. Johnson in writing by the person anticipating the delay.” “Special parts or materials shall be avoided whenever possible. Parts from stock shall be used even at the expense of added weight. Otherwise the chances of delay are too great.”
The rules was defined and everybody knew them
“I’ll teach you all you need to know about running a company in one afternoon, and we’ll both go home early to boot. You don’t need Harvard to teach you that it’s more important to listen than to talk. You can get straight A’s from all your Harvard profs, but you’ll never make the grade unless you are decisive: even a timely wrong decision is better than no decision. The final thing you’ll need to know is don’t half-heartedly wound problems—kill them dead. That’s all there is to it. Now you can run this goddam place. Now, go on home and pour yourself a drink.”
A little bit of management wisdom
We became the most successful advanced projects company in the world by hiring talented people, paying them top dollar, and motivating them into believing that they could produce a Mach 3 airplane like the Blackbird a generation or two ahead of anybody else.
About hiring the professionals, good salaries and management
I don’t want to compare the small R & D operations, but they all consist of similar close-knit, can-do, highly technical groups working on advanced and complex problems. They are all self-contained and do not require many people or big budgets,
And the last but the most important one:
“Ben, if I teach you anything, it’s this: don’t build an airplane you don’t believe in. Don’t prostitute yourself for bucks.”
Suits about any professinal field
In conclusion, I recommend this book to every manager.
Cool Review!