3 Lessons from NASA on Overcoming Uncertainty in Times of Change

This post was written by Lauren Magrisso, Growth Strategist at Jump Associates. Follow her on Twitter @CultureVagabond, or connect with her directly by commenting on this post

According to a Harvard Business Review report, there are six times more patent applications than there were fifty years ago, and ten times more startups launched every year, creating an unprecedented explosion of new technology and competition in the marketplace. It’s no wonder why committed business leaders are finding it harder and harder to predict and plan for, let alone try to grow in, this state of constant flux.
In these times of uncertainty, it’s difficult to know what to do or how to act. It’s almost like when NASA first began exploring space. Space, much like the future, is a hostile unknown territory. Unlike planet Earth, or today’s current business environment, it can’t be defined or easily understood. Today, as NASA gears up to talk about the return of human spaceflight launches to the United States, let’s look back at the early days of NASA to learn how they were successful in launching a man to the moon. By doing this, we will know steps we can take to ensure growth into the future.

1. Set a bold vision.

Business leaders need to dare to paint an audacious picture of what can be for the future of their organization. On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy boldly announced that the United States needed to “commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon.” It was a staggering, overwhelming, and somewhat terrifying goal for the scientists and engineers at NASA. Kennedy sought to convince the team at NASA and the American population that it was worthwhile to do — not because it was easy, but for the very reason that it was so hard.

This would serve as the impetus for long-range exploration of space, inspiring the world to see the limitless potential of man. As an audacious leader, Kennedy knew that the only way to make a dent in the universe was by setting out a bold vision. On July 20, 1969, the United States achieved its goal when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. You may not be landing on the moon, but you’ll never reach your goals if you don’t first start with a vision that aligns you for bold evolution and growth.

2. Identify your Soviet Union.

In order to be able to take bold steps into the future, the consequences of inaction must outweigh the risks of acting. NASA’s solution for having enough power to send man into Space was converting intercontinental ballistic missiles by replacing nuclear warheads with pressurized capsules for astronauts as payload. After countless tests to discover whether the rockets could serve as a reliable vehicle for man’s journey into space, the scientists and engineers of NASA asked themselves, “Are we really ready to light this candle?” They lived and socialized with the astronauts, and the risk of getting it wrong was literally the difference between life and death for their friends.

Beyond the perimeter of Cape Canaveral, Florida, however, the Cold War was in full swing. The anti-Communist Americans’ bitter fear of losing the Space Race to the Soviets, particularly after Soviet Yuri Gagarin became the first man in Space, was a strong enough motivator for NASA to pull the trigger for launch. As business leaders, it is crucial to clearly define the consequences that will embolden members of your company to take courageous action and dare greatly. The decisions with the biggest impact are never easy to make, but the fear of failure must be overcome by a greater motivation.

3. Learn your way into the future.

Employ a growth mindset. With a clear vision and consequences laid out, NASA knew they couldn’t think their way into a new way of acting; they could, however, act their way into a new way of thinking. The scientists and engineers of NASA knew nothing about rockets, flight paths and orbits when they first began. Without formal qualifications that taught them to do the work confronting them, they had to learn their way into expertise. That was what was necessary to build something that the world had never seen before.

The key to their success was that, instead of looking at what they didn’t have, they focused on what they could offer and applied a growth mindset to learn what they needed to succeed. None of us have degrees certifying us with the necessary skills and knowledge that will be required to deal with the future, but we can learn our way into success by harnessing our individual strengths and adopting a learning attitude.

NASA serves as a great inspiration for committed business leaders in times of change. It is imperative that you bravely face the uncertainty of the future by envisioning and building the future that doesn’t exist today. If NASA had simply looked up at the stars to get a picture of space instead of venturing into it, they would have been studying light that is 3 years old. That’s like when innovation teams try to reapply best practices from other companies to their business — the intent and strategy is already years old.
Rather than looking at successful case studies to lift and reapply, we need to take a page out of NASA’s book and explore our way into the future. Be the space explorers and pioneers of your industry. Set your sights big, dare courageously, and employ a growth mindset. The universe is waiting.