Taking a Moon Shot

Astro Teller’s TED talk about Google’s “moon shot factory.” I’m sure that the previous sentence needs some explanation. Astro Teller is the name of the person who leads this division of technology giant Google. The “moon shot factory,” which is actually named “X,” is the think tank that looks at how technology might be created and used to address huge global problems. Teller explains that “moon shot factory” incorporate two important ideas. “Moon shot” is an obvious reference to President Kennedy’s speech that catalyzed America’s successful effort to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960’s. “Factory” refers to the need to have concrete plans for achieving these dreams. Teller explains, “Great dreams are visions coupled to strategies for making them real.” I love that last sentence. It captures so much of what I believe about effective planning processes and the mindset that I bring to my consulting. Anyone can dream. But dreams alone don’t move people and organizations forward. If we only live in the intoxicating land of wishful thinking, we will have a moon shot without the necessary factory. Teller also describes the culture at X, where failure is accepted and even encouraged. Teams are expected to tackle the most daunting obstacle related to their dream first, and many exciting ideas don’t survive these tests. Failing quickly and honestly is much better than prolonging the life of an idea that will eventually die. “Enthusiastic skepticism is not the enemy of boundless optimism; it is optimism’s perfect partner,” according to Teller. I encourage you to take 15 minutes to listen to Teller’s talk, “The Unexpected Benefit of Celebrating Failure.” But more than that, I encourage you to build a moon shot factory where you can have great dreams. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>