There are exceptional organizations. Places with exceptional accomplishments. Xerox Parc, the original Macintosh team, The Manhattan Project, and the “Skunk Works” are all examples. The successes of the Lockheed “Skunk Works” comes from its founder and spirit – Kelly Johnson. He put together a list of 14 rules and practices adopted to enable its accomplishments.
Kelly’s successors such as Ben Rich have continued his principles creating new innovations such as the stealth plane. The world has changed since the world learned about the Skunk Works, but if anything, the need for breakthrough innovation has increased.
While not all of Kelly Johnson’s rules apply to 21st Century enterprises, there are insights that all enterprises need:
Projects with risk need to be “owned” and sponsored by an accountable leader.
The smallest possible team must have leadership and be accountable.
Resources necessary to capture knowledge, lessons, and teaching aren’t extras.
If the project doesn’t have a clear result it can’t be a project.
If you don’t have a schedule and budget you can’t ever be done.
Good people get rewarded for good work even if the project fails.
If leadership can’t be flexible the results won’t be either.
Trust and communications are the most expensive parts of a project.
Enterprises (that includes government, education, institutions, and non-profits as well as for-profit companies) need to use these rules for their projects. The Skunk Works Rules point to very expensive lessons paid for by all. 21st Century enterprises need to adapt the insights to stop failing. Technology projects historically fail more than 50% of the time. Enterprise initiatives fail more often than admitted.
That’s 8-rules for the enterprise – what else is needed here? Each Monday, I’ll be presenting one of the principles with an explanation of its importance to 21st-century enterprises.
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