SESSION 801

Friday, May 12, 10:15am - 11:15am Track: Evolving Desktop Support

To the Moon and Beyond: Leadership Lessons from America's Space Program

Mike Hanson Director, IT Support, Optum, Inc. mike@middlemgr.com

Session Description In 1962 President Kennedy vowed that the USA would land on the moon by the end of the decade. At the time, we had not yet put a man into orbit! NASA had to quickly go from no organization, very little experience, ineffective hardware, and nonexistent technology to a dedicated team and the technical means to reach the goal. They had to develop new leaders, build new processes, and develop and adopt new technology at a fantastic rate. This session will use period images, video, and even actual artifacts that I've collected over the years from the space program to illustrate the leadership principles and processes that had to be developed in order to keep Kennedy's vow. They set a standard that we all can adopt and follow!

Speaker Background Mike has been in the IT support industry for over 25 years, with the majority of that time in a leadership role over the service desk or desktop support. He has been very involved in HDI, serving as chair of the Desktop Support Advisory Board and as a local chapter officer. He has an HDI Service Center Manager certification and is a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Session 801:

To the Moon & Beyond:Leadership Lessons from America’s Space Program

Mike Hanson

Director of IT Support

Optum, Inc.

About Me

• 30-year veteran in the IT Support industry• Currently work for Optum, Inc., part of

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.– Oversight of Knowledge, Process Improvement,

Demand Management, and Asset Management

• Why Space?

A Big Project

• Have you ever had a really great idea? Something you really wanted to lead?

Von Braun song?

• In early 1945 Von Braun and his team had to decide whom to surrender to – the USA or the Russians.– Snuck away to Austria and surrendered to a young

Private with the US 44th Infantry division.

• Were brought secretly into the USA.– Became part of the fledgling US Rocketry program.– Worked his way to a leadership role over several

years.

A Big Project

A Big Project

• He certainly knew how to network!

A Big Project

Leadership Lessons

• Have a clear goal.• Make good, fact-based decisions.• Be a proven leader.• Network! Get to know the right people.• ‘Elevator Speech’

• How well did he do?

A Really Big Project

• Never put a man into orbit• Barely put a satellite into low earth orbit

• But . . .

• Couldn’t ask for better ‘high level’ support!

A Really Big Project

Agile

• Method of taking small steps– User stories

• Quick implementation• Documented deliverables

The Programs

• Project Mercury– Entry level

– Build processes

– Gain experience

• Competition– Keep up with the Russians

• Use existing systems– Missiles:

• Redstone

• Atlas

• Project Gemini– The ‘forgotten program’

– Tested concepts for going to the moon• Rendezvous

• EVA

• Docking

• Long-Term flights

– Existing systems• Titan

The Programs

• Project Gemini

The Programs

• Project Apollo– End Game– Lots of new technology– New ideas– Dedicated spacecraft

The Programs

• Project Apollo– Had to hire and develop staff

– Test pilots & engineering majors

– Average age was 26

• Had a clear direction.– We’re going to the Moon!

– Freedom to innovate was mandatory

– No pre-conceptions• Didn’t know it was impossible!

The Programs

Leadership Lessons

• Ever knew you were right?• Need to change the mind of your boss?

• There are three ways to get to the Moon– Direct ascent– Earth-Orbit rendezvous– Lunar-Orbit rendezvous

• “The Boss” – Werner Von Braun favored Direct Ascent– All power, leave earth to the moon, land and return

with a single spacecraft– Saw the Saturn V as a stepping stone to the Nova

platform, which would enable direct ascent.

Leadership Lessons

• Enter John Houbolt– Favored Lunar-Orbit rendezvous– Separate spacecraft

• One to get to the Moon (Command Module)• One to land on/return from the Moon (Lunar Module)

– Gathered the data– Argued with Von Braun over several months– Ultimately was proven to be correct

Leadership Lessons

• What do we learn from this?– If you’re doing the convincing:

• Always have data to back up arguments

• Be tactful, but persistent

– If you’re the leader:• Be willing to consider alternatives

• Trust your staff

Leadership Lessons

Changing Technology

• Rapid Change– Tubes to transistors to solid state– Analog communication

• Line of site to global

• They embraced new technologies– Focus on what is best for the ‘business’ to attain

the goal

• How do we treat new technology? – Do we say ‘NO’ or do we work with the business to

help them become more effective?

Artifacts

• Technology– Saturn V Instrumentation Unit– Solid State– Hardened to resist

vibration

• Scale

Changing Technology

• Propulsion– Mercury

• Redstone – Single stage, 78,000 lbs. of thrust

• Atlas – Single stage, 367,000 lbs. of thrust

– Gemini• Titan – Two stage, 430,000 lbs. of thrust

– Apollo• Saturn IB – Two stage, 1,600,000 lbs. of thrust

• Saturn V – Three stage, 7,891,000 lbs. of thrust– Still the most powerful machine ever built (until SLS)

– That’s a LOT of liquid sloshing around!

Changing Technology

Saturn V F-1 Engines burned almost 3200 gallons of fuel per minute!

Changing Technology

Artifacts

• Saturn V F-1 Engine (First Stage)– LOX Bleed Valve

– Hypergolic engine– Fuel was Kerosene

& Liquid Oxygen

Artifacts

• Saturn V J-2 Engine (2nd & 3rd Stage)– Cryogenic engines

• Liquid Hydrogen &Liquid Oxygen

– Flow Sensor– Ignition Sensor

• Lessons learned:– Take it slow, in stages– Learn from mistakes– Embrace new technology

• Look for ways to make your workflow more efficient• Allow your team to suggest changes, even lead change• Work with the business to understand their needs

Changing Technology

Knowing Your Process

• Mission Control ran simulations of every possible failure

• Team members and engineers worked hand-in-hand to understand the entire, end-to-end process

• How well do you know your business processes?– Are they documented?– Do you have a disaster recovery / business

continuation plan?

• Apollo 11

Knowing Your Process

• Apollo 12

Knowing Your Process

• What’s most apparent on these two events?– Calm, cool, collected

– Relied upon the team

– Waited for feedback

– Trusted the guys on the ground

• Why?– Constant simulations & testing

– Well-documented processes• Flight Plan

Knowing Your Process

Artifacts

• Mission Control Simulator– EAI Pace TR48 “Desktop” computer– Analog computer

Leadership Lessons

• We can learn a lot from those early days of space flight.

• Success relies upon:– Great leadership– Trust– Teamwork– Common goals– Documented processes

Artifacts

• Commemorative Coins– Apollo 8 – first manned flight around the Moon– Apollo 11 – first manned flight to land on the Moon– Apollo 13 – first major in-flight emergency

• Were minted after each mission using metals from the spacecraft.– Used to promote manned space flight– Apollo 8 contains metal from the command module

heat shield bolts– Apollo 11 contains metal from the heat shield on the

command module and a pulley from the lunar module– Apollo 13 contains silver from a small bar taken with

the crew

Artifacts

• Space Shuttle– Columbia tile material– Solid Booster O-Ring seal (updated)

Questions / Discussion

I hope you’ve enjoyed our stroll through the past, and can apply some of the lessons

learned!

Session 801:

To the Moon & Beyond:Leadership Lessons from America’s Space Program

Thank you for attending this session. Please complete an evaluation form via the HDI conference website or

HDI 2017 app.

Mike Hanson

Director of IT Support

Optum, Inc.

Appendix

Project Management

• Building a suit to walk on the Moon

Project Management