Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

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The contractor must be delegated and must assume more than normal responsibility to get good vendor bids for subcontract on the project. Commercial bid procedures are very often better than military ones.

He knew they would deliver because Skunk Works had done it before. They had a system of working together that made the impossible-possible. The early part of the book is the most interesting- about how they came up with stealth technology and the testing around it. But I could have done without the last part of the book which is mostly whining about the state of the aerospace industry and ramblings about politics. That part felt way too long and did not really fit with the rest of the book. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. He should report to a division president or higher. There must be a minimum number of reports, but important work must be recorded thoroughly. Also, there should be a monthly cost review of what’s been spent but also on the estimated costs to the conclusion of the project. This way, you can stay on top of costs and expenditures, and you will have no surprises. #6 Deliver early and continuouslyDespite the Tom Clancy recommendation glaring on the cover of this edition, Skunk Works isn't a bad read. Whatever the writing skills of engineer Rich, cowriter Janos's collaboration with him resulted in an engrossing text. Of course I've long had a special interest in the history of espionage, so the subject-matter went far towards keeping me involved.

As he was leaving, Brzezinski asked me a bottom-line question: “If I were to accurately describe the significance of this stealth breakthrough to the president, what should I tell him?” “Two things,” I replied. “It changes the way that air wars will be fought from now on. And it cancels out all the tremendous investment the Russians have made in their defensive ground-to-air system. We can overfly them any time, at will.”" There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly. In the ‘80s, IBM ran a skunk works project that resulted in the adaptation of personal computers to business needs and the release of the IBM PC, marking the start of IBM’s personal computer division; Whenever a business needs to do something bold, “going Skunk” is a great way to get innovation done.

How Skunk Works Projects Use Feedback as Fuel 

The specifications applying to the hardware must be agreed to well in advance of contracting. The Skunk Works practice of having a specification section stating clearly which important military specification items will not knowingly be complied with and reasons therefore is highly recommended. Two brief criticisms: One, the "other voices" interludes sometimes break up the narrative flow a bit too much. But Rich being what he was -- the second leader of a highly complex organization -- would naturally feel drawn to this kind of structure, in which value is placed on multiple viewpoints. Two, and I can't believe I'm writing this: Most books, if length is a problem, suffer from being too long. With "Skunk Works," I was hoping it would last even longer. Again, though, the book's concision is indicative of its author's personality; Rich was a "get it done" kind of guy who belied the image of a greedy contractor stretching out a project for as long as possible. Skunk Works prided itself on making or even beating deadlines, and thus Rich the author wasn't going to write a bloated book.