Optimizing Luck: What the Passion to Succeed in Space Can Teach Business Leaders on Earth

Whether you're running a modern business or a spacecraft mission, the keys to success are the same: expect the unexpected, be prepared for any possible disruption to plan, and create a culture that turns even the biggest challenge into an opportunity for competitive success. Optimizing Luck tells the story of one 20-year NASA project that, by any measure, illustrates just such a business model for capitalizing on every potential advantage that comes your way.Charged with running science operations for NASA, Meylan and Teays played an integral part in one of the most successful and longest-lasting astronomy satellite projects in NASA's history. Here, these scientists-turned-managers share how passionate dedication to quality, customer service, and the ideal of success helped a team of ordinary workers achieve sustained growth, market penetration, customer satisfaction, and production efficiency to become the employer of choice within the industry. From hiring and delegation to communication and rewards, Optimizing Luck lays out best practices for developing luck-optimizing competencies across the entire workforce. For leaders and managers in any business, this in-depth profile offers powerful lessons on what it takes to succeed, regardless of changing circumstances, competitive interference, breakdowns in process, and more than the occasional human failing.ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsIntroductionPart One: The Groundwork1 The Success of the International Ultraviolet Explorer Project2 Luck-Optimizing Systems3 Fault-Tolerant Systems4 LeadershipPart Two: The Practices5 Hiring6 Delegation7 Adaptability8 Running Lean9 Communication10 Rewards and SuccessPart Three: The Culture11 Theory of the Luck-Optimizing Culture12 Creation of the Luck-Optimizing CultureIndex

Thomas Meylan, PhD PhD is president of Digital Clones, Inc., and author of EvolvingSuccessr books, articles, and audio programs in business leadership. He served as director of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) Data Analysis Center, earning the NASA Group Achievement Award. Terry Teays, PhD president of Teays Consulting, Inc., and assistant director of the Maryland Space Grant Consortium at Johns Hopkins University, is an independent evaluator of science education products and programs who has served on more than 30 NASA peer review panels. As supervisor of telescope operations on the IUE project, he was recognized with the NASA Group Achievement Award.