Goals vs. Gains
One Idea
Inside the lobby of its Hawthorne, CA headquarters, SpaceX features a prominent rendering of a Martian city. Now, the company has yet to work out just how to engineer, manufacture, and sustain a city on Mars; much less, how to get actual people to the planet. Still, the image hangs–a visual reminder to everyone in the company: this is where we’re going.*
Source: SpaceX.com
Also displayed in its headquarters, SpaceX produced a film celebrating its many failures. Faulty sensors, bad valves, lack of oxygen and fuel, and collapsed landing legs have all contributed to multiple explosions and countless aborted launches costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars.
They recently announced they’re focused on figuring out static fire and in-flight abort tests for their first manned launch set for early next year. Oh, that's right, 17 years in and SpaceX has yet to send a human into orbit–not to Mars or even the Moon–just into space. Their announcement about these two issues is basically them saying: this is what we’re working on.
What’s my point?**
When making goals, SpaceX dreams big.
When making gains, SpaceX thinks small.
Two Quotes
“Marginal gains is not about making small changes and hoping they fly. Rather, it is about breaking down a big problem into small parts in order to rigorously establish what works and what doesn't.” - Matthew Syed
“Your progress as a runner is a frustratingly slow process of small gains. It's a matter of inching up your mileage and your pace. It's a matter of learning to celebrate the small gains as if they were Olympic victories. It means paying your dues on the road or the treadmill. It means searching for the limits of your body and demanding that your spirit not give up. It means making the most of what you have. It means making yourself an athlete one workout at a time.” - John Bingham
Three Takeaways
1. Measure progress based on where you were yesterday, not on where you’ll be in five years.
2. Conversely: What seemingly small issues, if not resolved today, could balloon into huge problems five years from now?
3. The Aggregation of Marginal Gains: daily 1% gain + every aspect of the team + time = tremendous growth.
