Work the Problem (#2)

Congratulations! We all survived the first week of the coronavirus crisis dealing with our new environment (telework, kids doing virtual school, learning how to blog, or figuring out new ways to do business.) and leading our teams.

Last night, I rewatched the movie The Martian (by the way, a fantastic movie and superb book if you haven't seen/read it). At the end of the movie, after spending 560 days alone on Mars before his rescue, Mark Watney (the astronaut played by Matt Damon) talks to a new bunch of astronauts. He tells them "At some point, everything’s gonna go south on you… everything’s going to go south and you’re going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That’s all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem… and you solve the next one… and then the next. And If you solve enough problems, you get to come home." 

Although the book and the movie are fiction, it is based on NASA's culture. Space travel is inherently risky, especially when you consider the millions of parts that all have to operate perfectly in the rocket, the command module, and lunar module to get astronauts to the moon and back during the Apollo Program. Every launch that the United States of America has done, all the way back to the Mercury Program, has had some complications small or big, especially Apollo 13 (also a great movie). NASA has always exhibited this mindset -- the astronauts and the teams at mission control identify the problem, break the big problem down into smaller problems, work each problem as it presents itself, and keep solving problems until they get the astronauts home. 

Now we all aren't stranded on Mars (although alone at the house doing social distancing it sometimes feels that way!) But, we, as leaders, all have a series of problems to solve for our company, our team, and our families during the coronavirus crisis. Take the time to think this weekend, come up with your own list of problems, break them into smaller problems, start working each problem next week, and solving them. 

PS — Below is the link to the Imperial College Study on the coronavirus which has influenced the government response to the virus. It's a worthwhile read.