There’s always a last drop in the tube…but should we be trying to squeeze it out?

I am usually really good at maintaining a stockpile of toiletry items for me and my family.

For example, when I get down to my last two bottles of conditioner in the drawer, I make sure I throw some new ones in my cart on my next shopping trip (my two girls and I have long hair, we get through a LOT of conditioner!)

Last week, though, when everyone seemed to start the day with chapped lips or come home with grazed knees, I realized that I’d run out of my favorite “go-to” ointment, a tube of which travels around with me in my handbag.

I’d been squeezing tiny amounts out of the tube for a while, intending to get a fresh tube out of the drawer, “next time”, so when I realized we had none left I resorted to getting the kitchen scissors out, cutting through the tube to extract the final few dabs to soothe my son’s scuffed-up shin.

The whole episode got me thinking about how this applies to the workplace. Usually I wouldn’t go to such drastic measures. I’d typically give up after a few firm squeezes and accept that the tube would go into the trash with a little bit left. On this occasion, I was determined to get every last drop I could.

What do you think the work environment would be like if people were treated like my ointment tube?  When should we stop squeezing time and energy out of people on a regular basis? Is it acceptable to do this or expect this type of practice to happen on very rare occasions?

S_G

 

SpaceNews unlocks it content

I am one of the many space industry professionals who was delighted by the announcement that SpaceNews has unlocked its content, reverting back to being a free access news site.



SpaceNews unlocks its content [Credit: SpaceNews]



Its hugely unpopular strategy to try to monetize its readership by locking them into paid subscriptions was evidently one of the first things that the new editor and publisher Bill Klanke wanted to change as soon as he was appointed in April.

It’s clear that space media is one of Bill’s personal passions, this being the start of his second stint at SpaceNews.  In the interim his experiences at AOL where he focused on online publications surely influenced and informed his evaluation of, and decisions on what the best business model is for SpaceNews.

Getting the right revenue mix between paid subscriptions and advertising, and the right product mix is a difficult strategy to get right, however SpaceNews is definitely going in the right direction. In addition to being the “first port of call” for industry news, its developing Community sites for different stakeholder groups are increasingly popular.

I’m more than happy to trade my name and email address for access to free quality content, and I’ll be adding a quick visit to the SpaceNews website back into my daily coffee break routine, as a way to get updates on the latest industry issues, along with my current go-to list of Satnews and SPACE.COM.



Space_Girlie's daily news digest includes Satnews [Credit:SatNews]



Space_Girlie's daily news digest includes SPACE.COM [Credit:SPACE.COM]



 S_G

A lesson from a Kindergartner on defining your customer's problems - and solving them

Last night, right before bedtime, my youngest daughter announced that she couldn't find Pink, her favourite teddy.

I spent about 30 minutes looking for this soft toy, with my internal voice talking to me: "the bedtime clock doesn't start ticking until she's in bed, with her fingers clutching Pink's leg and her thumb in her mouth. Then, 20 minutes of stories, 5 minutes of her teaching me a new song she's learned, 15 minutes of snuggling with the lights off...and I still need to jump back on my computer and get a document finished, and attack the over-stuffed laundry basket. What a major inconvenience..."

When I eventually found Pink, tucked into one of the many toy strollers we have, and returned him to his rightful owner (yes, Pink is a boy bear), she promptly plugged her thumb in, looked at me through her long eyelashes, already half-way to falling asleep, she said to me "Mommy, you are the BEST problem solver!"  The look on her face said it all.

I usually find myself dozing when we're having a final cuddle, but her final words of the day made me suddenly alert.  I hadn't been sensitive enough to consider the situation from her point of view. Pink, who is no longer pink, despite regularly sneaking him away for gentle handwashing in unscented laundry soap (otherwise "he smells funny"), has been her constant night-time companion for around 2,000 nights since birth and has been on many real and imaginary adventures with her. He has his own personality, likes and dislikes.



Solve my problem, please!

What was a time-sinking exercise for me was an essential problem for me to solve for my daughter, which boiled down to : "Find the most important object in my world. It's impossible to sleep without him".

It reminded me to try to re-frame the problems and issues that I encounter when interacting with customers, partners and coworkers. To slow down and be a more active listener. To think about what problems are constantly on their mind, and why it's really important to them. Only then can I figure out what I need to do to create a solution.

S_G

10 ways that having children can enhance your management skills - Part I

The traditional transition from being single, to becoming a couple and then to being a parent typically takes place against a workplace backdrop of increasing job responsibilities and aspirations for career progression.

I don’t think that there is a right time to have a baby (within a woman’s typical problem-free fertile child-bearing years), due to the complicated personal choices associated with issues such as time, money, career aspirations and financial status, so let’s stop over-analyzing for a little while and focus on some of the ways that becoming a parent can enhance your interpersonal and management skills.

Spoiler alert: The tiny baby stage is grueling, physically…but the best opportunities for personal growth will come as your children get bigger, develop an innate and forensic capability to identify your weaknesses and “hot buttons” and use this knowledge to pull a fast one on you on a daily basis..

As a mom of 3 young children and a job that involves travel, working long hours, and being available for conference calls when either I or my European colleagues are in our PJs, here are the first four of my personal observations on how having children has enhanced my management skills.

1. I’ve improved my organizational skills and time management

Many of my friends and colleagues are either terrified or impressed by the fact that I have a 6-month rolling calendar which pretty-much defines what I need to achieve on a week-by-week basis to meet my longer-term work objectives, and which defines day-by-day what each child is doing (they do a lot of sport).  I also have all of the children’s school holidays, appointments and activities blocked out in my calendar so that I can set people’s expectations about my availability.

Sometimes I feel pretty downhearted by the fact that my life is so timetabled, but since my firm pays me to deliver end results and my family relies on me to keep the household machinery and kiddy logistics running and still have time and energy left over for fun stuff, parties, homework, exam prep, cuddles and bedtime stories, it’s very useful for me to map things out on a big planner.

Having this all written down is an asset for my ENTJ personality type.  My time is under my control; I know where I have gaps and flexibility and I can articulate to my manager how my plans for delivering on an already-challenging set of targets will be impacted if he throws an urgent and important into the mix at short notice –thereby developing another important skillset; that of managing your boss.

Sadly, despite all of this planning, I do often end up working and taking calls when I’m supposed to be on holiday. I keep this to a minimum, but there are some things that can be kept spinning while I’m out of the office if I give them a little touch, and this actually results in less stress for me. So I’m not saying it’s all perfect; I still need to work on feeling able to leave my laptop and Blackberry behind when I’m supposed to be having some downtime. I’ll keep you posted on this particular challenge.

2. I’m better at time management and prioritization

In addition to the overall plan, I am becoming increasingly protective of my working hours and ruthless about time management and meetings. I HAVE to leave to collect my children, and there’s a ton of stuff I need to get done before the end of the working day. If something is not essential to my role or my objectives, it’s going to stay at the bottom of my “to do” list until someone can tell me why I should move it up my priority list.

It’s not been easy, and it’s contrary to my nature, but I have developed the habit of identifying the “one big thing” that I should do but could quite easily put off doing because it’s difficult or unpleasant, and force myself to do this as soon as I get to my desk, often before I’ll allow myself the pleasure of that first morning coffee.

It really focuses my mind, and once I’ve got that job out of the way, I can focus better on getting other things done without “the one big thing” nagging me at the back of my mind and distracting me from the other things I need to do.

3. I'm better at relationship-building, have an awareness of other industries and feel part of a wider family

In my personal mommy network (people I like and know well enough to go out for coffee or dinner with) I know a choreographer & stage manager of international music, dance and fashion shows, several police officers, lawyers, specialist nurses and medical doctors, some owners of WOSBs, a couple of CFOs, an M&A expert and the general manager of a flagship department store.

The kids are a great leveler. We’ve bonded through many seasons of watching soccer, football,  track and field,  gymnastics and swimming events, through all kinds of weather: all bundled up in numerous layers with our thermos cups of steaming coffee, or in shorts and tees, slapping sunblock onto any passing child in need of a touch-up. I get a chance to learn about the issues facing them in their daily work and personal lives and how they deal with them.

Having this wider business perspective enhances my ability to apply a more holistic approach to challenges I face at work, as well as allowing me put my own problems into perspective (anyone fancy being responsible for growing a store’s retail sales numbers when all the business papers paint a picture of declining consumer confidence and disposable income and the stockmarket is twitchy about company performance..?).

4. I have another sense of purpose and a new source of satisfaction

I know that if I’m stuck I can call on any one of the wonderful women in my mommy network to have one of my children tag along with theirs if I can’t get them to and from a training session or competition. And it works the other way, too…I’m relieved when I’m asked to do a favor (or my offer of help is accepted), as I feel that I am usually the one doing the asking! Expect other kids to be dropped round in the early hours in their jammies so that their mom can make it to the airport or train station, or to mind a neighbor’s sick child for a few hours so that she can attend a critical meeting.

I love the extended family we’ve built, with my kids’ friends literally treating me like part of the furniture, the bigger ones sprawling their gangly legs over mine on the sofa; the littler ones sharing my lap with my youngest.

And I know that the feelings of satisfaction I get from having a purpose outside of my day job actually has a positive effect on how I perform at work.

- Have you had the same experiences? Or are you still thinking about taking that step to parenthood?

S_G

10 companies who are printing 3D components for space

3D printing is a catch-all term for several different additive manufacturing processes (there will be an upcoming space_girlie blog to look at these in a bit more detail), and is being positioned as one of the next disruptors for the space industry.

There is a growing community of commercial firms out there who are pioneering the technologies, processes and applications and actively stimulating the growth of a brand-new market for 3D printing for space. The difficulty of these activities cannot be underestimated, however, the fact that these companies are already proving the feasibility of these concepts means that the conditions for commercialization are also being established.

1. Planetary Resources of Bellevue, Washington, is leading the pack of commercial space rock miners and has financial backing from Google's Larry Page and other high-profile technology leaders. 

They have already built full-scale mechanical prototypes of their Arkyd-100 space telescope for asteroid prospecting applications from low earth orbit.  I’m looking forward to DSI’s announcement of the launch date for their first technology demonstration mission.

Planetary Resources' Arkyd-100 LEO space telescope

2. Deep Space Industries (DSI), based in McLean, Virginia is planning to survey asteroids, mine them for resources and convert the raw materials into products, while in space, using 3D printers. DSI recently announced their plans to deploy a fleet of small satellites on deep-space missions to prospect for resource-rich asteroids. Using low-cost Cubesat technology, their first cluster of 25kg FireFly satellites are scheduled for a 2015 launch, followed by a sample return mission using their DragonFly spacecraft in 2016. They’ll then use their MicroGravity Foundry 3D printer to convert the asteroid materials info metal parts.

Deep Space Industries' FireFly series concept

3. Tethers Unlimited, in Bothell, Washington, is teaming with NASA on the SpiderFab concept to develop the technologies to print large structures in space, eliminating the need to use large launch vehicles to carry them to orbit,. Their longer-term goal is to be able to fabricate all of the parts for a satellite in space usind additive manufacturing techniques. They’ve already demonstrated 3D printing of radiation shielding and have been awarded a $100k study to develop space-based 3D printing processes capable of manufacturing apertures measuring around a kilometer across.

Tethers Unlimited's on-orbit manufacture of large space apertures

4. Made In Space has already proved the 3D printing process by fabricating tools during over 400 parabolas of microgravity flights since Summer 2011. They plan to send the first 3D printer into space to operate on the International Space Station in 2014, following more microgravity tests this summer.

Made In Space is flying the first 3D printer in space in 2014

5 & 6. A consortium including 2 British firms, Foster+Partners and Monolite, is working with the European Space Agency to explore the feasibility of using 3D printing to build an astronaut base on the moon, using the Lunar soil itself as the raw material.



ESA, Foster+Partners and Monolite are developing a concept to use 3D printing to build a lunar base



7. Concept Laser, a leading industrial laser machine company based in Germany has supplied NASA with a 3D printing system that will be manufacturing rocket engine parts for NASA’s Space Launch System, the next heavy-lift launch vehicle for delivering cargo, crew and instruments into low Earth orbit as well as deep space missions. 

Rocket parts for NASA's SLS will be fabricated using 3D printing[NASA/MSFC/Andy Hardin]

8 & 9. DIYROCKETS and Sunglass.io are also looking at launch vehicle applications – at the other end of the kilograms-to-orbit lift scale. They recently announced a competition to  find a collaborative team  to design a 3D printed rocket engine for delivering nanosatellites into orbit,  with the aim of stimulating low-cost innovations to increase opportunities for space exploration. 

DIYROCKETS and Sunglasses.io want to use 3D printing to build launchers for cubesats [Ninkonaft/Shutterstock]

10. And finally, a team looking at how to nourish our astronauts and stop them getting bored with the same ol’ pre-packaged food on long missions: the fab@home  3D printer created out of Cornell University is using edible gels and flavors to create a range of different foods with realistic tastes and textures.

Fab@Home's 3D printer produced a space shuttle from scallops and cheese



Are there any other companies to add to this list?

S_G

Applying the laws of physics to being a working mom

Applying the laws of physics (otherwise known as juggling) to being a working mom is something that takes constant practice and attention, and as soon as I think I’ve achieved equilibrium, life throws another ball into the space above my head for me to deal with (in the form of another baby, additional work responsibilities, or more kid logistics, for example). And sometimes I have to do tricks - such as dealing with a sick child, car problems, or the nanny leaving - at the same time and still keep all the balls in the air.

A rocket scientist by profession,  I juggle my job of being a “jack of all trades” at one of the coolest space companies on the planet with raising a bunch of very spirited (double-speak for loud, strong-minded and cheeky) and sporty young children who dream of becoming Olympic athletes, entrepreneurs or astronauts (and sometimes a combination of all three).

So in addition to writing about things I find interesting in the fields of space, technology and business, I’m qualified to write about working motherhood by virtue of more than a decade of blood, sweat and tears (and other unmentionable bodily fluids)  and hard slog I’ve endured to try to attain that (impossible) goal to “have it all”. So some upcoming blogs will be:

• How having children will enhance your career
• Why having children will feel like the end of the world (and how to cope)..because although I’m a natural optimist, it’s only fair that I write a corollary to the first “rose-tinted” story.
• How to stop your lifestyle and career goals falling off the rails when you start a family.

..I just need to throw my balls a bit higher to make space for the ball labeled “blog”.

S_G

National Space Symposium without NASA: An oppoprtunity to develop and strengthen relationships

NASA’s reaction to the impacts of sequestration made headlines recently when Charles Bolden announced that his Agency was pulling out of the 29^th National Space Symposium, taking place in Colorado Springs April 8-11.  NASA  isn’t the only USG agency that’s decided not to attend – there will be a reduced presence from many DoD offices, too – but the NASA announcement is the one that many people have latched onto.

NSS is the acknowledged annual forum for the global space community, and a key opportunity for exhibitors and participants to meet with customers and industrial partners.

However, rather than viewing this as a negative, let’s view this from another perspective: will we look back on 2013 as the year that commercial space companies started to gain the upper hand against the traditional institutions?

The vacuum created by NASA’s absence will be filled over time by the more enlightened and entrepreneurial sectors of the industry, who recognize that the “problems” of delivering and maintaining space assets and ground infrastructure and getting data and information to end users are not going to go away, and that the solutions lie in developing efficient and collaborative relationships with other complementary firms that each excel in their core business areas.

So, while some of your key customers might not be there for you to talk to, there are still government-driven missions out there that need to go through the acquisition process – albeit fewer of them, with smaller budgets -  as well as more agile commercial firms looking to exploit market niches, each increasingly reliant on synergies across the value chain from financing and insurance, through to spacecraft and launch vehicle manufacturers, to make their business cases work.

So take advantage of the free slots in your NSS meeting schedules to spend more time talking with prospective partners, to plan how to combine your competitive strengths to provide winning solutions to your customers within this new budget-strapped paradigm.

S_G