What I learned at Space Camp

In April 2023, I participated in a week-long leadership program at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. A terrific team of professional facilitators ran the program, but we were particularly fortunate to have Captain David Leestma lead many of our sessions. Captain Dave was an accomplished “Top Gun” fighter pilot with the U.S. Navy, and he was selected to become an astronaut in 1980. At NASA, Captain Dave flew in three space shuttle missions – STS-41G Challenger, STS-28 Columbia, and STS-45 Atlantis – and served in many leadership positions throughout his career, including Flight Director and Chief of the Astronaut Office. He was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2022. Not only did Captain Dave share intricate details of the missions that he led, but he also explained the rich history and context behind NASA’s program over the years. Here are some of the valuable lessons that I learned during my week at Space Camp.

If you want to build a great team, find individuals with a learning mindset.

Captain Dave earned multiple degrees in Aeronautical Engineering, but as an astronaut, he needed to have a broad knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics. When I asked him how he learned all of it, he responded, “I’ve always been a curious person.” The truth is that Captain Dave had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. His pilot callsign was “The Wizard” because he seemed to have all the answers, and he soaked up facts like a sponge. I believe it’s a big part of what made Captain Dave a great leader. He wanted to learn from others, so he invited everyone around him to share their knowledge and their voice. Many of Captain Dave’s colleagues, like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, also seemed to have this quality.

I’ve been a hiring manager since 2006, and I have interviewed hundreds of candidates over the years. As I reflect on the strongest performers that I have hired, they all seemed to share a common characteristic – a learning mindset. Prof. Carol Dweck called it a “growth mindset” and it drives important behaviors:

• Constructive feedback. Most people say they want honest feedback, but very few actually want it because the truth hurts. Learners want honest (and painful) feedback so they can take action and grow. They rarely get defensive, and they know how to create a safe space for others to give them constructive feedback.

• Post-mortems. Learners never get too disappointed with failures because they understand that failures are important opportunities to learn, grow, and improve. They take time to learn from their mistakes and get better each time.

• Inclusion. Learners are naturally inclusive because they want to hear from others, especially those who have different backgrounds and perspectives from their own. They foster an inclusive culture that makes people feel safe to fail and share, and it nurtures a collective growth mindset. Team members are willing to invest in one another’s growth, and that ultimately helps the entire team deliver better outcomes.

Purpose inspires passion.

President John F. Kennedy Jr. visited NASA for the first time in 1962. He noticed a janitor carrying a broom and asked him what he was doing. The janitor replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon, Mr. President!” Free food and employee discounts are nice perks, but nothing inspires individuals more than having a sense of purpose. Many studies have shown that purpose has the most significant impact on company morale. At the core, individuals want to be connected to a higher purpose, and that purpose fuels their passion to do their best work. The janitor at NASA wasn’t just sweeping floors and cleaning bathrooms, he saw himself as part of the team that would put the first human on the moon.

I have managed many patent attorneys at different companies over the years. Among other responsibilities, they counsel clients and hold brainstorming sessions with engineers to build the right patent portfolio for their companies. But after a few years, patent attorneys often get weary of performing the same tasks. When I joined Meta, several of the patent attorneys on my team were bored with their jobs; but then in 2019, we read a report from the U.S. Patent Office showing that women and minorities were drastically underrepresented as patent inventors. We looked at Meta’s internal data and found similar results -- Meta’s female inventorship rate was only 17.6% even though a quarter of all technical roles were held by women (we published this 2021 data). This realization set off a complete revamp of our company-wide patent programs. Our team collected feedback and learned inclusive practices, and our patent attorneys changed the way that they engaged the innovator community. When this happened, I noticed renewed energy and excitement about their work. It was the same work that they had been doing for years, but the difference was that it was now tied to the bigger purpose of inclusive innovation. Purpose inspires passion in people when there is meaning behind their work.

If you want to accomplish BIG things, you need to set BIG goals.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite called Sputnik. It successfully orbited the Earth and safely returned to the atmosphere. The mission marked a significant milestone in space exploration, but it also created panic in the U.S. about the perceived technological gap between the two nations. On May 25th, 1961, President John F. Kennedy declared that the U.S. “should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” The experts at NASA had no idea how they were going to do it, but JFK’s speech created urgency and gave everyone a common goal. Only 7 years later, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon and safely returned to earth four days later. It’s hard to imagine Apollo 11 ever happening on the same timeline, or at all, without the vision set by JFK and the leadership from James Webb (as described below).

When I was at Google in 2013, I remember having a conversation with my friend and former colleague, Eric Schulman, about his idea to combat abusive litigation practices by non-practicing entities (NPEs) – entities that generate their revenue from patent monetization. We came up with dozens of reasons why it would never work, but Eric eventually decided to raise the idea with our leadership team, and we were off to the races. One year later, the LOT Network launched with only three founding companies (Google, Canon, and Red Hat), and today, it has grown to over 3,500 members with over 4 million patents. It all started with Eric’s big idea, but that idea needed the right soil in which to grow and flourish. First, Eric and I had a manager, Allen Lo, who encouraged us to “crash the plane” and take chances. Second, we worked at a company that revolved around moonshots and 10x impact. It is imperative for leaders to set a vision for their teams and empower them to take chances. Big things only happen when you dream big, and design thinking is a great method for facilitating bigger thinking.

Diverse teams deliver better outcomes, especially when you amplify strengths.

James Webb was a successful attorney, businessman, and manager who served in the Truman administration. Vice President Lyndon Johnson asked Webb to lead NASA, and at first, Webb thought it was a mistake. Webb didn’t think he was qualified for the job and initially declined, but Johnson wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. It turned out that Johnson didn’t pick Webb for his engineering or technical experience. He wanted him for his strategic mindset and judgment, and that was exactly what NASA needed at that critical time.

Webb’s first course of action was to create a leadership team that included his predecessor at NASA, Hugh Dryden, and the former COO of Radio Corporation of America, Robert Seamans. Webb knew what skillsets he needed, and he created an org structure that would amplify the strengths of each person. Dryden was called “Dr. Science” because he was a technical genius. He oversaw all engineering projects. Seamans was called “Mr. Inside” because he understood how organizations run. He would manage internal politics at NASA and ensure seamless operations and execution. Webb was “Mr. Outside” because he knew how to deal with external stakeholders. He handled Congress and public relations. All three men had signature authority, and together, they became the legendary team known as “The Triad," one of the greatest examples of collaborative leadership and decision-making. Webb leveraged the Triad’s cognitive diversity and empowered his team to deliver on the President’s audacious goal.

As I walked around the Johnson Space Center, I noticed that virtually all the photos, plaques, and statues celebrated the achievements of white men. While it’s true that James Webb accomplished great things by building an organization with diverse skillsets, he still fell short when it came to including the cognitive diversity of women and people of color. But this is what systemic inequality looks like, and NASA is no different from the rest of society. In my world of intellectual property (IP), women and people of color are drastically underrepresented as inventors (described above) and IP professionals. In the patent field, only 22%, of practitioners are women, 6.5% racially diverse, and 1.7% racially diverse women. Many of us in IP agree that we need a more diverse IP community, but we don’t understand why progress has been so slow. I used to wonder why until I realized that I was part of the problem. We all need to confront our own biases and ensure that everyone has access to the same opportunities, especially those of us in positions of privilege and power.

NASA has struggled to build diverse teams, and it has missed the opportunity to harness the power of cognitive diversity from more people like Annie Easley, Katherine Johnson, or Sally Ride. Just imagine what NASA could accomplish if it had greater representation from all communities across the country? What other “hidden figures” would emerge to solve seemingly unsolvable problems?

Culture can make or break an organization.

A recurring theme during my week at NASA was the importance of culture. There were so many instruments – slogans, plaques, playbooks, and protocols – that were created to reinforce a particular set of cultural values. These practices contributed to strong team morale, cohesive community, and a standard of excellence that has pervaded the entire organization. Here are a few examples of NASA values and how they are embedded into the culture:

• Pride. After the completion of each mission, the flight crew designs their own badge, and the flight controller with the most impact has the privilege of hanging up the badge in Mission Control. It is a great honor to hang the badge and become part of NASA history. When we concluded our program, Captain Dave gifted each of us a signed badge from one of his three missions. Mine is now prominently displayed in my home office.

• Accountability. A mirror hangs above a water fountain in Mission Control with the words “You are responsible for the mission’s success.” Every time a team member gets a drink of water, they see those words just beneath their own face. In the adjoining conference room to Mission Control, the portraits of every fallen astronaut hang on the wall facing the Flight Director’s chair. It’s a constant reminder of the lives that are on the line.

• Safety. The “Silver Snoopy” is a sterling silver Snoopy lapel pin that is awarded each year to fewer than 1% of NASA’s workforce (1 out of more than 1000 employees) who have significantly contributed to flight safety and mission success. An astronaut always presents the Silver Snoopy because it is the astronauts’ own award for exceptional performance, and the recipient is hand-picked by the Astronaut Board. The Silver Snoopy is one of the highest honors at NASA, and each recipient proudly wears the pin to work every day.

• Learning. George Low was a senior administrator who installed many protocols and built the long-term NASA playbook, including the regular practice of murder boards. This process assigned a group of questioners to critically review projects leading up to launch readiness. Their job was to ask tough questions, speak the truth, and expose any errors. Nobody would take the criticism personally, and the team would celebrate when errors were found. Many people (including Captain Dave) credit George Low with preventing dozens of potential accidents during his tenure.

• Community. Astronaut Memorial Grove is a beautiful grove of oak trees located near the Johnson Space Center. It was planted in 1986 as a tribute to the Space Shuttle Challenger accident; and the base of each tree has a plaque with a fallen astronaut’s name. Since then, tree dedications have honored every astronaut who has passed away. My time at the Grove was peaceful and reverent. As I stopped at each tree, I paid my respects and offered my gratitude for each person’s service. The grove of trees felt like a family reunion of astronauts from different eras. Captain Dave showed me the future location of his tree, and he seemed comforted to know that he would one day join the esteemed fraternity of heroes. The sense of community and belonging was palpable.

Peter Drucker coined the phrase, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” It is difficult or impossible for teams to be effective without establishing the right culture. NASA demonstrates how the opposite is true – organizations can accomplish amazing things with the right culture. Most corporate legal teams simply don’t spend enough time on culture, and it is often the reason why initiatives don’t succeed, and good habits don’t stick.

In 2023, we lost several of our valued and talented teammates, but their work didn’t just go away. As a team, we had to shift responsibilities and adopt new coverage models for our clients. Our team members had to embrace a growth mindset, learn new areas of law, and adjust our risk tolerance. This is how we have adapted to the changes at the company. It’s not about simply doing more with less. It’s about making sure we’re aligned with the priorities of the business and then reimagining how we deliver the biggest impact.

This year, I want to be more intentional about building a learning culture that will put my team in the best position to adapt to change. Like Webb, I know my own strengths and limitations, and I need the right leaders to build our team culture. I am fortunate to have “The Quad” -- great leaders in Shayne O'Reilly, Christine Foo, Micheal Binns, Esq., and Stacy Lin, who not only bring unique perspectives and experiences to the table, but also complement one another extremely well. We also have an exceptional leader in Allen Lo, who encourages us to think big and take chances.

Here are a few things we are planning to do this year:

• Education.  We have a team of talented and experienced individuals who possess subject matter expertise across several disciplines – patent prosecution, litigation, licensing, trade secrets, open source software, academic engagements, standards, and M&A. We plan to build out our own curriculum of classes – taught by a combination of external experts and our own internal experts – that our team members can take throughout the year to learn new areas of law.  

• Rotations. After completing a requisite set of classes, team members will have the opportunity to support a new function under the supervision of a functional lead. Interested team members will be selected by our leadership team using an equitable distribution framework that ensures everyone has fair access to the same opportunities. Selected individuals may start out by shadowing the functional lead, and over time, take on projects of their own. At the end of the rotation, the functional lead will have gained valuable management experience, and the participant will have developed a new skillset. The program will also create greater team redundancy so that more team members will be able to cover for one another during surge events, PTO, and other leaves of absence.

• Murder boards. Like NASA, we will conduct detailed reviews of major projects to understand what is working or not working. We will assign questioners to pressure test proposals, and we will create a safe space for teammates to speak the truth and debate the best path forward. This process will further leverage our team’s cognitive diversity and help us deliver better outcomes.

What are the cultural values that you want to see in your organization this year? What are the practical things you will do to cultivate those values? I hope this article gives you a few ideas, and if so, I hope you will pay it forward by sharing your own lessons learned with your friends and colleagues.

“Never be limited by other people's imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination." – Astronaut Mae Jemison