NASA storytellers engage, encourage, reflect.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a Masters Forum of program managers, sponsored by NASA's Academy of Program and Project Leadership (APPL). The three-day conference was amazing and enlightening and left my head spinning for days. This is a brief story of some of what I saw, heard, and learned during my time with these spacemen and women.

The first thing that struck me was how deeply cool NASA's mission is. It's all about discovery, exploration, and adventure. Seriously, how many government agencies (or any endeavor at all) can you name that use the word "adventure" in their vision statement, not just their marketing and recruiting materials? I very much wanted to be a part of it.

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Next, it was quickly obvious NASA does acquisition, technology development, and program management a little differently from the Department of Defense. That basically means we make different mistakes, so there's probably a lot we can learn from each other. We've each figured out ways around certain pitfalls that the other hasn't yet. Sounds like a ripe field for collaboration and cooperation to me.

As the conference progressed, technology developers from NASA and the DoD began to sound more and more alike. NASA PMs and their teams wrestle with many of the same issues--micromanagement, fear, bureaucracy, funding instability, requirements creep, and the like--that all too often plague the DoD. Even on a technical side, we share some similar challenges. If you think Afghanistan is a low-bandwidth environment, check out Mars. If you think, target ID and engagement is tough in Iraq, try doing it from more than 750 million miles away. In one recent example, NASA hit Saturn's moon Titan with their Huygens probe, which was zipping along at 12,400 mph (and experienced 16 Gs of deceleration, by the way). There's a reason they call it rocket science.

Once Upon A Time

My big take-away from the Masters Forum (aside from the autographed photos of astronaut Paul Richards for my kids) is the power of stories. In the 18th century, Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, wrote (reputedly quoting the Earl of Cromarty), "I knew a very wise man that believed that ... if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation." Stories, like ballads (which are, after all, stories in rhyme) carry power. In recognition of this fact. APPL uses stories as their chief knowledge transfer method--the mechanism these program leaders use to shape and define their culture and to pass along lessons to the younger generation. Quite frankly, the process of writing the stories is often how they discover lessons in the first place.

The storytellers at the Masters Forum don't offer "best practices" for imitation, but instead share "practices" for reflection and encouragement. They are more descriptive than proscriptive, and they understand that adult education is more about drawing out than stuffing in. NASA's storytelling is an engaging, memorable, often amusing approach. It is powerfully effective, and I would love to see DoD practitioners follow suit.

One presenter spun a fascinating yarn about the trials and tribulations involved with fabricating a uniquely designed metal canister for a space experiment. His little cylindrical box was not as sexy as some of the more high-tech gizmos NASA is known for producing, but his story kept us riveted, laughing, listening, and cheering him on. He didn't use a single PowerPoint chart, relying instead on an actual sample canister that he turned over and over in his hands as he spoke. The principles he gently shared with us were both personal and universal, and they cut to the core of how people relate to each other. There's no way I could do his story justice in this article, but I assure you I won't soon forget him.

His presentation (and the others like it) demonstrated that stories are more convincing and enlightening than traditional academic approaches. They capture and present values and priorities, rather than just numbers and charts. They are, in fact, the ideal medium for passing along the accumulated wisdom of "the tribe" to the other members. APPL's objective is to develop "reflective practitioners"--people who take the time to evaluate and learn from their experiences and the experiences of the people around them. Taking some time out of the day to listen to thoughtfully crafted stories certainly encourages reflection--long after the campfire has burned low.

Check It Out

Of course, we can't all attend NASA's Masters Forum, but that doesn't mean we can't learn from their experiences. APPL publishes stories from the forum in their journal ASK Magazine, which is available online as well as in print. I encourage everyone to visit ASK online at <appl.nasa.gov/ask>. I think you will find the stories and practices interesting, relevant, stimulating--and sometimes even funny. NASA and the DoD have a lot in common, and the bonds we build between us will strengthen us all as we serve this great nation.

Maj. Dan Ward, USAF