Sputnik — What can Product Managers Learn?
The first artificial satellite in space! A historical achievement that kickstarted what is referred to as the start of the Space Age and the U.S.–U.S.S.R. Space Race. A scientific success that sparked an entire period in history and pushed engineers, scientists, governments, politicians (from different nations) racing towards achieving the seemingly impossible.
The space exploration sector is a very fascinating field. It is a field that combines several disciplines across hardware, software, supply chain, operations, etc. In this writeup I want us to look specifically at the results of the Sputnik program.
The decision from the International Council of Scientific Unions in 1952 is said to be the start of U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) racing towards launching an artificial satellite. Before the actual launch of the Sputnik, on a rocket designed for an ICBM, there were several tests launches that took place at the designated proving ground.
In summary: Scientists within the U.S.S.R, in order to fulfil the resolution to launch an artificial satellite for the IGY (International Geophysical Year), started moving towards critical actions to ensure they realised the dream on home soil. The date period 1st July 1957 to 31st December 1958 was established as the IGY by the International Council of Scientific Unions. In U.S.S.R. a proposal was made to convince government officials, official public announcements were issued showing intention towards the program, approvals were made, presentation of calculation data, decisions, design plans, scheduling, construction of the rocket proving ground, delegation of duties, detailing/defining specific purpose/tasks for the satellite. It is a whole lot to take in and get inspired by.
There is a whole lot that Product Managers (and every other professional) can learn from the Sputnik story. Here are a few of those lessons:
1. Cross-Functional work: Collaboration and coordination between teams and departments across multiple organisations is possible. With proper planning, structure, and order the results can be historical and pioneering. The story goes, work on the satellite was delegated among different ministries focused on different aspects of the entire program. Different ministries, one academy and the teams, skills, disciplines within them all contributed to the overall success of the program from concept, to specification, to design, to prototyping and tests flights. The lesson here for Product Managers is to understand that no matter how complex a development endeavour appears to be, no matter how large the work is spread across organisations or teams, it is achievable with focus and proper planning! Do not just do Product Management but also appreciate and acknowledge the discipline of Project Management as well. This is a clear scenario where Product Managers should see the importance of Project Management, Program Management, Portfolio Management. Learn the lesson.
2. Preparation and Proving ground: Some of us know the date, 4th October 1957, that Sputnik launched. Very few realise it was as a result of a lot of preparatory activities, planning, designing that lasted long before the actual launch date. The story goes in 1952 the International Council of Scientific Unions decided to establish a date range (1st July 1957 to 31st December 1958) as the International Geophysical Year (IGY). This was because the scientists were certain the cycles of solar activity will be at a high point during this time period. In October of 1954 the council (i.e. the International Council of Scientific Unions) adopted a resolution calling for the launch of artificial satellites during the IGY, in order to map the Earth’s surface. There is a whole lot that happened BEFORE the historical date of the launch, that’s the point that I am trying to make here! Proposals, announcements, approvals, presentation of calculation data, etc as already mentioned above. The eventual successful launch date was a result of ongoing work over a period of time after the council brought up the idea for the IGY and resolved for an artificial satellite. The lesson here for Product Managers is to never neglect needed preparatory work. I am not asking you to drown in bureaucracy, I am not saying you should be trapped in analysis paralysis. I am saying you should learn to carry out any necessary required preparatory work and needed proving ground in any development endeavour.
3. Specifications: It is important to be clear and detailed in the area of specification! Poorly written, poorly documented, poorly communicated specifications never ends well! The story goes, Sputnik while in conception had a clear set of specifications that it needed to possess in order for it to carry out its intended purpose in reality. Specifying design and also clearly stating and defining what success is. The engineers and scientists were very specific on what they intended to achieve with the satallite and what they wanted to do for it to be able to achieve this. Along the line they made a few modifications but never deviated from the core purpose of the idea. The lesson here for Product Managers is to aim for clear specifications and communication of said specifications
4. Design: The importance of design cannot be overemphasised! For Sputnik, design was very functional and mission critical rather than aesthetic. The team understood their situation and ensured this was the case. They (the organisations, ministries, departments, etc) were not aiming for a beauty award when they put together Sputnik! It did what it did and did it relatively ok. The lesson here for Product Managers is to know what you are designing for! I have seen several products that should be purely functional and utilitarian but the team keeps trying to force aesthetics down everyone’s throat. There are products where all that matters is the UX experience and core functionality. Consider product like those used in the medical field, there really is not point for aesthetics but more of better UX and functionality. That’s the lesson, learn it!
Whether you are in fintech, ecommerce, Insurtech, govtech, proptech, etc You need to think, you need to ask yourself: are there opportunities that are just asking for a ‘proposal to innovate and pioneer’? Has your (professional) community suggested a path forward that you can leverage as a reason to be of value and relevance? This particular story is something that inspires me and it (I believe) should inspire Product Managers and everyone else reading about it. If you do not become a space exploration/research enthusiasts you can at least draw from the lessons that this particular story teaches.
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