A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure

May 28, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Voices of the People 

(A message for DPM Wong Kan Seng)

Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam : ‘A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure’

India Knowledge@Wharton: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India’s satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India’s “Rohini” satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources — but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 — I think the month was August — we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts — I had four or five of them with me — told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was a big failure.

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference — where journalists from around the world were present — was at 7:45 am at ISRO’s satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure — he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite — and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, “You conduct the press conference today.”

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

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3 Comments on A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure

  1. The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Daily SG: 28 May 2008 on Wed, 28th May 2008 11:24 am

    2. [...] Fallout – Hard Hitting in the Lion City: Fallout from Mas Selamat Kastari’s escape – Sgpolitics: A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure – Baloney and Balls: Why wasn’t the ISD Director sacked? – The Sun Shines on Singapore: Mas [...]

  2. Cocomademoiselle’s Weblog on Wed, 28th May 2008 3:22 pm

    3. [...] http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=223 [...]

  3. Leaderless Leeders on Thu, 29th May 2008 10:02 am

    4. Do we really have leaders?

    I only see managers and administrators, as well as a few dictators. Where have all the
    leaders gone? Must be either underground, underpaid or undercover, I think. Or,
    perhaps, most of them have gone for greener pastures down under?

    I have been asking myself this question for over 30 years: How can bookworm scholars
    be leaders? Lead who? Who would allow them to lead them? I won’t. Definitely, I won’t.
    They have not earned my trust and confidence. How can I accept them as my leaders
    and be their follower? No way.

    They may have better brains than me, but when come to crisis, they will not accept
    responsibility and blame. They simply push all faults to others so that they can be seen
    as perfect. They can only make “honest” mistake because they think we should think
    that they are “honest” people. By doing so, they are already not “honest” to themselves.

    Though they may be recognized by the “Matrix” and fit into it just nice and comfy, they
    have not been tried and tested under major crisis or disasters. How can we really know
    what is inside them? Outward appearance can be deceiving, just like advertisements.
    The proverbial saying “All that glitters is not gold” should be ingrained into our
    consciousness all the time so that we are always aware of frauds and impostors.

    I can only see LEEders.

    So, do we have real leaders?

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