APJ Abdul Kalam

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


IndiaKnowledge@ 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.


What a wonderful leader!