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

The 12 Most Controversial Facts In Mathematics

For those of us who love maths, stats and probability, twelve brain-teasers courtesy of Business Insider:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-controversial-math-problems-2013-3#

My brain is aching!

S_G