BOOK SUMMARY 232
The Right Kind of Crazy
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Summary written by: Ingrid Urgolites
"We humans are an innately curious species. Born
through hips too narrow to pass a skull large enough to hold a fully formed
human brain, we are born half-baked. Compared with those other animals, very
few of our behaviors are hardwired. We don’t inherit genetic instructions for
nest building, for instance, or for migrating south when the sun hits a certain
angle in the sky. We come into this world programmed with few instructions,
save for one paramount piece of code: Be curious."
- The Right Kind of Crazy, Page 227
In The
Right Kind of Crazy, Adam Steltzner (with William Patrick) takes us on
an autobiographical journey of how he ultimately lead the team at Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that developed the Sky Crain that put NASA’s Curiosity on
Mars. In The Right Kind of Crazy, Steltzner explores how curiosity
steered him toward self-authorization, overcoming the fear of failure,
embracing imperfection, balanced judgment, managing stress with grace, and a
style of leadership focused on interconnection, all of which opened up
incredible opportunities and achievements. This book is about how curiosity
transforms life.
Curiosity
is the antidote to misinformed conclusions about other people, our world, even
ourselves. We rely on data that we filter through our perspective. A perspective
is our model of the world, and curiosity is the bridge to other models. The
more we consciously seek out and accept other views, the more strictly our
opinion matches reality. As we get closer to reality more possibilities open
up; solutions and discoveries materialize.
Steltzner
uses similar principles for leadership and problem-solving. For this summary, I
will focus on problem solving but also include how that applies to working
within a team. It is not enough to know the answer, we must share the valuable
information.
The Golden Egg
Focus on the Problem
"Breaking
the matter down, understanding your state of understanding, and keeping your
mind free and purely focused on the matter at hand – not yourself – is the only
way to strike the right balance between consideration and action."- The
Right Kind of Crazy, Page 131
Analyzing
a problem is impossible when we are unable to focus on the problem itself. It
is important to understand how everything fits together. Be curious. Break it
into little pieces. Deconstructing allows us to see smaller details that may
have been overshadowed by larger things. It also gives us a clearer idea of
what we do not understand. Sometimes great innovative ideas distract from more
sensible, simpler solutions. Steltzner mentions Occam’s razor; it is the
economy of explanation that often reveals the truth. This is what brings us out
of a state of confusion and gives us a clear direction.
The
idea transfers to working with a team. People are not interchangeable. There
are many components of a team—the star players and many people with ordinary jobs—but
the team also works with other departments. Be curious and broaden the focus.
Central players are important but appreciate and understand how everyone works
together. When managing a team, getting to know them is also important to
understand how the job fits the project and the people. Fostering
interconnection creates a safe place for inconvenient truth to be expressed and
heard. Knowing a little truth that may be overlooked or unobserved can be the
difference between success and failure.
Clarity
of ideas, resources, and people is important, but there are stumbling blocks
that halt creativity and innovation. Our egos might prevent us from accepting
new ideas and from sharing them. Read on to the GEMs.
Gem #1
Surrender the Ego
"And
there is a virtue in staying in the Dark Room until you completely
surrender—not give up but completely surrender the ego, which means that you
stop trying to force the existing solution. That’s when a breakthrough can
occur."- The Right Kind of Crazy, Page 114
Our
ego is our sense of self, and it is the mechanism for how we adapt to the world
and build our model of it. Peppered with a measure of curiosity, we can look
beyond our narrow field of observation from which we created our ego.
Observation is the weakest form of evidence. Empirical data is something like
an observation on steroids. Facts are essential and inseparable from the
problem, but not the whole truth. To find a solution, we must include our
judgment, a product of our model of the world. By releasing our ego, our
analysis improves, and solutions materialize. It is only in the dark when we
feel lost; we can surrender. In the light, reality supports our beliefs, and
there is no need for submission.
Surrendering
our ego also releases panic and opens the mind. Our panic is our ego protecting
itself, working to preserve the world it created. People who can stay calm in
chaos are not trying to control the situation, they are observing it so they
can adapt. When our ego is too tenacious, we force the solution that fits
with our view of the world. Our view is only a model of reality and a judgment
made based on the model may not work in reality. In a state of panic, the most
desperate solution in our world will seem to be the only choice. Steltzner
offers the acronym HOTTD – hold on to the doubt.
Gem #2
Share the Answer
"Bringing
all that you have requires offering up your opinion in the absence of
invitation. It requires self-authorization. You need to believe that you have
the answer, and you need to give it to the team, even if you only think you
have the answer. It is a form of leadership, and it is needed at every level
and in every element within a healthy and high-functioning team."- The
Right Kind of Crazy, Page 49
You do
not need anyone’s permission to do exceptional work, nor do you need an
invitation to share it. Steltzner writes, “What’s more, true authority comes
not from a title or a position but because your words are well thought out, or
at least strive to be.” You will be taken seriously if your ideas are well
considered and well-articulated because they are useful. There is always room
at the top for those willing to do the work and pass on their knowledge.
Respect
and encourage all team members. Steltzner observes, “Ideas should win, not
people.” Feelings about an individual or desire for a personal victory should
not detract from the matter itself. When you decide to contribute it allows
your work to mix with others, and there is a synergy that makes a team stronger
than any one of its components. Allow imperfection and support imperfect ideas
and solutions. The need for perfection drives fear and fear blocks creativity
and contribution. Respect is the glue that maintains the interconnection that
makes it possible to achieve great things.
The
right kind of crazy is not insanity when the mind can no longer distinguish
reality from fantasy. It is curiosity that drives discovery to define what part
of fantasy can be a reality. Discovery does seem crazy until it becomes
innovation and eventually ordinary, even mundane. Perhaps this is why those
with an aptitude for creativity find a little magic in everyday life, challenge
what is accepted and create what has never been before.
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