{"product_id":"the-smart-mission-isbn-9780262046886","title":"The Smart Mission","description":"\u003cb\u003eWhy human skills and expertise, not technical tools, are what make projects succeed.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe project is the basic unit of work in many industries. Software applications, antiviral vaccines, launch-ready spacecraft: all were produced by a team and managed as a project. Project management emphasizes control, processes, and tools—but, according to \u003ci\u003eThe Smart Mission,\u003c\/i\u003e that is not the right way to run a project. Human skills and expertise, not technical tools, are what make projects successful. Projects run on knowledge. This paradigm-shifting book—by three project management experts, all of whom have decades of experience at NASA and elsewhere—challenges the conventional wisdom on project management, focusing on the human dimension: learning, collaboration, teaming, communication, and culture.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe authors emphasize three themes: projects are fundamentally about how teams work and learn together to get things done; the local level—not an organization’s upper levels—is where the action happens; and projects don’t operate in a vacuum but exist within organizations that are responsible to stakeholders. Drawing on examples and case studies from NASA and other organizations, the authors identify three project models—micro, macro, and global—and their different knowledge needs. Successful organizations have a knowledge-based culture. Successful project management guides the interplay of knowledge, projects, and people.Introduction vii\u003cbr\u003e1 Knowledge 1\u003cbr\u003e2 Learning 23\u003cbr\u003e3 Stories: Knowledge, Meaning, and Community 47\u003cbr\u003e4 Culture 65\u003cbr\u003e5 Teaming 81\u003cbr\u003e6 Global Collaboration: The International Space Station 105\u003cbr\u003eDon Cohen\u003cbr\u003e7 The Way Forward: Mission-Critical Advice 123\u003cbr\u003eNotes 131\u003cbr\u003eIndex 145“This book is about people (often a missing ingredient), knowledge, and the grand value of stories….and oh yes, projects too. The three authors gave me more concrete advice on leading people, knowledge, and projects in this book than I could have ever learned from hiring an outside consultant for a year.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—E. LaVerne Johnson, Founder, President and CEO, International Institute for Learning, Inc.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Every leader who leads and manages teams should read \u003ci\u003eThe Smart Mission\u003c\/i\u003e. It explains the intangibles of successful knowledge organizations in a tangible way. The authors master the art of explaining how people culture, process, and relationships drive the successes and failures of projects. The book helped me to gain clarity and focus about the challenges we try to solve in our organization.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Susann Roth, Chief of Knowledge Management, Asian Development Bank\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“This book supplements and corrects the somewhat sterile project management literature. It recognizes that successful projects are about acquiring and applying knowledge. And NASA provides the perfect example. Whatever your type of moonshot, \u003ci\u003eThe Smart Mission\u003c\/i\u003e will help land it.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Thomas H. Davenport, Distinguished Professor, Babson College, and Visiting Professor, Oxford Saïd Business School; author of \u003ci\u003eThe AI Advantage\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCompeting on Analytics\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWorking Knowledge\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Intangibles such as knowledge, learning and culture are the source of productivity and innovation in any organization. However, intangibles by nature are extremely hard to measure or manage, until \u003ci\u003eThe Smart Mission\u003c\/i\u003e. It cracks the code with principles and practices gained through NASA’s long journey. It’s a must-read for managers and knowledge-workers, especially those at project-based organizations.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Naoki Ogiwara, Managing Director, Knowledge Associates Japan\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Every mission should be a Smart Mission. NASA has paid high costs to learn these lessons, and Ed Hoffman, Matthew Kohut, and Larry Prusak have distilled and refined them as tools for any program or project.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Peter Temes, President, Institute for Innovation in Large Organizations; author of \u003ci\u003eThe Power of Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Just War\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWe the People\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBronze Axiom medal, Business Intelligence \/ Innovation category, 2023\u003c\/b\u003eEdward J. Hoffman, currently CEO of Knowledge Strategies, LLC, and Senior Lecturer at Columbia University, was NASA’s first Chief Knowledge Officer and founder of the NASA Academy of Program\/Project and Engineering Leadership (APPEL). Following the Columbia shuttle failure, he led the team that designed the Strategic Management and Governance Handbook. He is the coauthor of \u003ci\u003eShared Voyage: Learning and Unlearning from Remarkable Projects\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMatthew Kohut, former major communication advisor to NASA, is coauthor of \u003ci\u003eCompelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential\u003c\/i\u003e, named one of Amazon’s Best Business Books of 2013.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eLaurence Prusak, former strategy consultant to Hoffman at NASA, is Senior Lecturer in the Information and Knowledge Strategy graduate program at Columbia University and the coauthor of \u003ci\u003eWorking Knowledge\u003c\/i\u003e, a widely cited text about how knowledge works in organizations, and other books.\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300700016869,"sku":"NP9780262046886","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262046886_d71fc8ea-4d88-4d6b-a9e9-5331443a6b64.jpg?v=1767741554","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-smart-mission-isbn-9780262046886","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}