NASA’s Former Head of Science on What It Takes to Manage Complex, High-Risk Projects

NASA’s Former Head of Science on What It Take...

Up next

How Leaders Create the Conditions for Innovative Thinking

Today’s leaders need to be able to innovate over and over again despite fast-changing market conditions and a multitude of other uncertainities. Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill has spent years researching the true drivers of innovation, taking lessons from the world' ...  Show more

An Announcement from HBR On Leadership

Since 2023, HBR On Leadership has been bringing you hand-curated insights and inspiration from across the HBR archive to unlock the best in those around you. But the time has come for HBR On Leadership to hit pause on new episodes. While this feed is going on hiatus, you can hear ...  Show more

Recommended Episodes

NASA’s Science Head on Leading Space Missions with Risk of Spectacular Failure
HBR IdeaCast

In 2021, the U.S. space agency NASA launched a spacecraft toward a pair of asteroids more than 11 million kilometers away. The target? The smaller of the two asteroids, just 170 meters wide. The success of the $300 million, seven-year project demanded careful coordination of scie ...  Show more

#108 Thomas Zurbuchen: Adventures in Astrophysics
The Knowledge Project

Thomas Zurbuchen is currently Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, where he seeks answers to big questions about the universe and our place in it. Previously, he was a professor of space science and aerospace engineering at the University of Michig ...  Show more

Space Projects: Managing Innovation, Risk and Change
Projectified

Space projects push boundaries, aiming to give teams a better understanding of our own planet and to explore what’s beyond. But these efforts are full of complexity, with evolving risks, new innovations, long timelines and fluctuations in funding. We discuss this with:  

  Show more

Space Policy Edition: NASA at a Crossroads
Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Norm Augustine, the distinguished aerospace industry veteran behind numerous influential studies, joins the show to discuss “NASA at a Crossroads,” the new report that raises alarm bells for NASA’s workforce, infrastructure, and technology capabilities.

Augustine, who c ...

  Show more