"Hey, this isn't Rocket Science"…or is it?

"Hey, this isn't Rocket Science". How many times have you heard or used this tongue in cheek analogy? Someone tries to explain or demonstrate a seemingly simple task by comparing it to the act of getting a missile and any related payload from Point “A” to Point “B” and in the case of manned flight, back to Point "A"safely. Rocket science.

Having spent the first half (so far) of my professional career in the Aerospace industry designing,  building, testing, and ultimately dismantling strategic missile systems before moving into the world of sales and marketing, I can’t tell you how much ribbing I take about being a “rocket scientist”.  However, it is kind of a cool parlor trick to typically be the only person in the room with the street creds to legitimately address the statement when it’s made.

Side note: Shania Twain was so unimpressed with that fact that she referenced us in a song….

So really what were we trying to accomplish with “rocket science”?

In a nutshell, it’s trying to accomplish complex tasks with limited resources and limited knowledge. Often the end result requires the creation and implementation of technologies and strategies that have never been deployed. “To boldly go…”  Oh, and by the way, it ALWAYS involves an extraordinary degree of highly coordinated teamwork even if you are Capt. James T. Kirk.

There were probably members of the early space flight program who would have killed for a PC, internet search, electronic spreadsheets or even a pocket calculator. Yet, these tools are so commonplace today that they are nearly invisible. The functionality of any one of these tools would likely have shaved years off of JFK’s May 25, 1961 goal of putting men on the Moon and bringing them back safely. They plowed ahead and figured it out creating and perfecting new technologies as they went. The OG's of Rocket Science.

It sounds familiar because it is. Successful businesses do this on an ongoing basis. It’s the only way they stay alive and prosper. Entrepreneurs live and die by these strategies because it’s what makes the difference between billion dollar valuations and not quitting your day job.

Each day as we go through our normal business processes, there’s “rocket science” unfolding all around us.  Try developing software to automate a complex workflow. Or perhaps sit in with a law firm as they structure the expansion of a local business into international trade. How about the merger of two large corporations doing business on separate continents?  Walk through a complex strategic sales cycle or respond to a government RFP. Rocket Science indeed.

Take a look at some of the new frontiers (IoT, cyber-terrorism, geo-politics, energy, healthcare, etc.) and the amount of rocket science that’s being developed and deployed as a result. Complex tasks, limited resources, unknown variables, teamwork, collaboration on a global scale. It’s all there plus some.

Don’t get me wrong, being a rocket scientist was (and remains) a really cool handle. However, it looks like to the field has expanded and rightly so.

Welcome to the club.