First Principles Based Leadership Requires First Order Learning

Premise I read this post by John Hunter, which was originally published in 2014 but is still very relevant. In this blog, he shares one key insight from the work of Deming – managing (or leading) can’t be taught (prescriptive) and needs to be learnt (experiential). First Order Learning Vs Second Order Learning One needs to learn to lead by leading and to manage by managing. We can learn from our own experience (first order learning) or from the experience of those who have gone before us (second order learning). When we learn from our own experience, we start to […]

Lessons we Can Learn From Catching A Rocket in Mid-Air

On 13th October 2024, SpaceX team did something remarkable. They launched their starship rocket and then allowed its booster to drop into the Earth’s atmosphere and caught it with their giant mechanical arms at the launch pad. This is something that has never been done (or even attempted before). There are a few lessons to be learnt for all of us as leaders from this exercise. Lesson 1: Challenging Assumptions and Beliefs When Elon Musk started SpaceX and decided to develop a re-usable rockets, it was never even considered by the teams before him. It was believed to be impossible, […]