The Freepr Foxhole Profiles Clarence "Kelly" Johnson March 10, 2006

See Educational Sources

[stainlessbanner]

bttt

[alfa6]

Clarence "Kelly" Johnson retired from Lockheed in 1975 as a Senior Vice President. He stayed on at the Skunk Works as a senior adviser however where is influnce contiued to be felt.

"Our aim," he said, "is to get results cheaper, sooner, and better through application of common sense to tough problems. If it works, don't fix it."
"Reduce reports and other paperwork to a minimum."
"Keep it simple, stupid--KISS--is our constant reminder."

As a man of high integrity himself, Johnson expected complete honesty from the people of the Skunk Works. Mistakes were allowed, but they were to be brought to his attention immediately. And Kelly also expected recommendations to correct mistakes.

He was firmly convinced of the importance of being honest with people, not just telling them what they wanted to hear. He emphasized the necessity of good communication, urging us always to ask a lot of questions.

One of Kelly's challenges to employees was a standing 25-cent bet against anyone who wanted to differ with him. It was not the quarter, of course, but the distinction of winning it from the boss, Kelly said. "It's another incentive. And I've lost a few quarters, too," he admitted. But not often, it must be noted.

Just A few of the awards that Kelly Johnson was awarded:

1966 The National Medal of Science

1974 The Avaiton Hall of Fame enshrined Kelly Johnson

1975 The Wright Brothers Award

1983 The National Security Medal



Kelly Johnson's 14 Rules of Management

1.The Skunk Works manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. He should report to a division president or higher.

2.Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry.

3.The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. Use a small number of good people (10% to 25% compared to the so-called normal systems).

4.A very simple drawing and drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes must be provided.

5.There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly.

6.There must be a monthly cost review covering not only what has been spent and committed but also projected costs to the conclusion of the program. Don't have the books ninety days late and don't surprise the customer with sudden overruns.

7.The contractor must be delegated and must assume more than normal responsibility to get good vendor bids for subcontract on the project. Commercial bid procedures are very often better than military ones.

8.The inspection system as currently used by the Skunk Works, which has been approved by both the Air Force and Navy, meets the intent of existing military requirements and should be used on new projects. Push more basic inspection responsibility back to subcontractors and vendors. Don't duplicate so much inspection.

9.The contractor must be delegated the authority to test his final product in flight. He can and must test it in the initial stages. If he doesn't, he rapidly loses his competency to design other vehicles.

10. The specifications applying to the hardware must be agreed to well in advance of contracting. The Skunk Works practice of having a specification section stating clearly which important military specification items will not knowingly be complied with and reasons therefore is highly recommended.

11. Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesn't have to keep running to the bank to support government projects.

12. There must be mutual trust between the military project organization and the contractor with very close cooperation and liaison on a day-to-day basis. This cuts down misunderstanding and correspondence to an absolute minimum.

13. Access by outsiders to the project and its personnel must be strictly controlled by appropriate security measures.

14. Because only a few people will be used in engineering and most other areas, ways must be provided to reward good performance by pay not based on the number of personnel supervised.

Educational Sources

Want to find out more about Kelly Johnson.

(http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/biomems/cjohnson.html)

(http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/kelly1.htm)

(National Aviation)

[alfa6]

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[alfa6]

You quick on the draw tonight :-)

Have a great day

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Soaring Feather]

me me I am first!

[Soaring Feather]

Ain't fair, I was beaten out of the #1 spot.

[BIGLOOK]

BZ Alfa6.

The Bird flew.....and flew....and flew....

[alfa6]

It was either yourself or EPGWS that gave me the idea for tonights thread.

Another plane that kept on going and going and...

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[The Mayor]

March 10, 2006

A Great Coach

Read:
Philippians 2:12-24

I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. —Philippians 2:20

Bible In One Year: Deuteronomy 11-13; Mark 12:1-27

Although Billy Connors was not a great athlete himself, many people consider him to be the best pitching coach in major league baseball today. New York Yankees manager Joe Torre said: "Sometimes the best players can't coach, because they were such naturals . . . whereas guys like Billy had to work at it, and pay attention to all the little things."

Connors also knows and cares about the men he coaches. All of them have been to his home for a meal. His genuine concern opens their ears to what he has to say.

This account of a caring and competent coach made me think of Timothy in the New Testament. Though at times he seemed timid and fearful (2 Timothy 1:6-8), Paul considered him proven and dependable in guiding others. The apostle wrote, "I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you . . . . For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state" (Philippians 2:19-20).

Spiritual coaching is not just telling people how to accomplish great things for God. It begins with caring for them and earning the right to be heard. Then, with a keen eye and a kind word, we can encourage others in the way of faith.

Any Christian can become a great spiritual coach by the grace of God. —David McCasland

O Lord, You are faithful and always will be,
You never give up on working with me;
So as I am striving to serve You each day,
Help me show others Your will and Your way. —Fitzhugh

Genuine concern for others is the mark of a great spiritual coach.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
The Mind Of Christ

[Soaring Feather]

Howdy Mayor. Got snow??

[stainlessbanner]

Hi alfa6 - Ben Rich's book is on my reading list. I hear it's great.

[BIGLOOK]

Ahh....the other problem with that was extended missions from 8 to 10 to 12 or more hours.

Glory days!

[AZamericonnie]

Supporting our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen at more than 1,000 places across the U. S. and around the world.

~Tribute to Our Troops~

[AZamericonnie]

Thank you for the ping Alfa....hope this post was ok....it's all I have! LOL Great post!

[The Mayor]

No, it's all gone. Today it was 47, tommorrow 50 and Sat 55..
Snow is all melted... I hope spring is here.

[snippy_about_it]

I've always been envious of people who knew what they wanted or were going to do or be when they were very young. I never knew and still don't.

Thanks for the interesting new thread.

[Neil E. Wright]

hiya alfa6

you'll need to fix your HTML to change www.vetscor.org to www.vetscor.net. some dirtbag stole our .org address ... I'm trying to get it back

elsewise ... thanks for the FOXHOLE thread ... I miss them

±

"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
Toward FREEDOM

[Don W]

Just so's you feel better, it's snowing here in Victoria and Port Angeles. In March! What a travesty!

Half an inch on the ground, and fog rolling in to boot!

[ken5050]

Great piece..thanks for posting...

For your enjoyment, two little known factoids...

1. The crew of the "Truculent Turtle," the P2V Neptune that set the world's distance record for an unrefueled flight in 1946 from Perth, Australia to Columbus, Ohio, consisted of 4 USN pilots and a young kangaroo...

2. The Blackbird was originally designated by the military as the RS-71...Reconnaissance being the keyword here..but LBJ, who who known for his vanity, hated to wear reading glasses, so during a speech announcing the plane, misread it as the SR-71...immediately afterwards the designation was changed...