On the peculiarities of management in space research of the USSR or “Back to the Future”

Once in the Moscow branch of PMI, taking into account my specific experience, they asked to tell about the features of management in the USSR. And I have this experience. 20 years of software development in the MCC and the same in commercial companies.

Here are the theses of this story about what good I learned in the socialist space scientific research institute, and that greatly helped me in capitalist software development. Suddenly it will be useful to someone else.

I will try to be brief, so I will only talk about the main thing.
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People

Ronald Reagan said: “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, give them power and do not interfere with them.”

Here are the main qualities that distinguish the best employees:

• Focus on the problem.
• Creativity and independence.
• Accepting oneself and others, a sense of community with others.
• Sincerity, simplicity, naturalness, philosophical benevolent humor.
• Resistance to domestication.

Team

Different works require a different form of organization of labor collectives. Quite a variety of processes, methods of management and organization are required when competing in canoe teams in a calm rowing canal and when rafting on uncharted mountainous rapids.

When external conditions are well known and stable, when production operations are well studied and repeatedly tested, the functions of the performers are defined and constant, there is no place for self-organizing teams, they can only bring failures into a well-functioning mechanism. In this case, the basis of efficiency are narrow specialization and increased competence. If the tram driver starts to look for new ways, expect trouble.

Commands are required where a new product is developed, external conditions and requirements for which are constantly changing, where the applied technologies are used for the first time, where the search for new opportunities is constantly underway, intellectual efforts and creativity.

Team is:

• Clarity of common values ​​and goals.
• Trust, mutual control, mutual assistance and interchangeability.
• Collective responsibility for the results of labor.
• Full development and use of individual and group potentials.

Leadership

Stephen R. Covey wrote “High-performance management in the absence of effective leadership is like streamlining the arrangement of chairs on the deck of the sinking Titanic.” No success in management compensates for the failure in leadership. [...] Leadership is the highest manifestation of management, it is the creation of perspectives for people and the release of their potential. ”

Here are the necessary skills of an effective leader:

• Vision of goals and strategies to achieve them.
• Deep problem analysis and search for new opportunities.
• Focus on success.
• Sincerity and openness in communication.
• The ability to create a creative atmosphere.
• Tolerance, the ability to accept people as they are.
• The desire to identify and implement the individual capabilities of each.
• The ability to actively "provide", "get", "knock out", etc.

Development

The task of leaders is to create new leaders. Therefore it is necessary:

• Hire a life position.
• Offer not work, but opportunities.
• Special courses, basic departments, production practice.
• Mentoring and knowledge transfer.
• Career planning.

Successes!