The right kind of crazy

No cover — Adam Steltzner: The right kind of crazy (2016)

246 pages

English language

Published Oct. 30, 2016

ISBN:: 978-1-59184-692-5
OCLC Number:: 928750733

(6 reviews)

"The true story of how an unlikely leader helped inspire a team of rocket scientists to achieve the near impossible: landing a two-thousand pound rover on Mars. Few organizations solve as many impossible problems as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and nobody knows more about leading rocket scientists to unlikely breakthroughs than Adam Steltzner. As the phase lead and development manager for EDL (entry, descent and landing) of the Curiosity rover to Mars, Steltzner spearheaded the creation of one of engineering's wackiest kluges-- the sky crane-- that allowed the heaviest rover in the history of space exploration to land on Mars unscathed. Steltzner is no ordinary engineer. His path to leadership was about as unlikely as they come. A child of beatnik parents, he was a daredevil and avid mountain biker, breaking thirty-two bones before squeaking through high school. He blew off college in favor of work at a health food …

"The true story of how an unlikely leader helped inspire a team of rocket scientists to achieve the near impossible: landing a two-thousand pound rover on Mars. Few organizations solve as many impossible problems as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and nobody knows more about leading rocket scientists to unlikely breakthroughs than Adam Steltzner. As the phase lead and development manager for EDL (entry, descent and landing) of the Curiosity rover to Mars, Steltzner spearheaded the creation of one of engineering's wackiest kluges-- the sky crane-- that allowed the heaviest rover in the history of space exploration to land on Mars unscathed. Steltzner is no ordinary engineer. His path to leadership was about as unlikely as they come. A child of beatnik parents, he was a daredevil and avid mountain biker, breaking thirty-two bones before squeaking through high school. He blew off college in favor of work at a health food store and playing bass in a band. After an interest in the movement of the stars led him to enroll part time at community college, Steltzner discovered an astonishing gift for math and physics. Within years he got his PhD and ensconced himself within the offbeat Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's decidedly unbureaucratic cousin, where success in a mission is the only metric that matters. The Right Kind of Crazy is the story of the teamwork, drama, and extraordinary feats of innovation at the Jet Propulsion Lab, that culminated in landing the rover Curiosity on Mars in 2012. It also weaves Steltzner's professional life--centering on the ten years he and his team spent planning and then executing the landing of the rover--with his unlikely journey from academic underachiever to rocket scientist. Along the way, readers will learn about what makes effective teams, how to stay on task for the long haul, and strategies for solving incredibly complex problems. The Right Kind of Crazy is a book for anyone striving for excellence"--

"The Right Kind of Crazy A True Story of Teamwork, Leadership, and High-Stakes Innovation Adam Steltzner with William Patrick The true story of how an unlikely leader helped inspire a team of rocket scientists to achieve the near impossible: landing a two-thousand pound rover on Mars. Few organizations solve as many impossible problems as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and nobody knows more about leading rocket scientists to unlikely breakthroughs than Adam Steltzner. As the phase lead and development manager for EDL (entry, descent and landing) of the Curiosity rover to Mars, Steltzner spearheaded the creation of one of engineering's wackiest kluges-- the sky crane-- that allowed the heaviest rover in the history of space exploration to land on Mars unscathed. Steltzner is no ordinary engineer. His path to leadership was about as unlikely as they come. A child of beatnik parents, he was a daredevil and avid mountain biker, breaking thirty-two bones before squeaking through high school. He blew off college in favor of work at a health food store and playing bass in a band. After an interest in the movement of the stars led him to enroll part time at community college, Steltzner discovered an astonishing gift for math and physics. Within years he got his PhD and ensconced himself within the offbeat Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's decidedly unbureaucratic cousin, where success in a mission is the only metric that matters"--

1 edition

Ching-jan reviewed The right kind of crazy by Adam Steltzner

Review of 'The right kind of crazy' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The book was not well structured or edited, and probably wraps a little more technical and personal details than necessary. It reads like a lightly edited oral interview except for the epilogue.
That being said, there is a lack of books in the genre of traditional engineering, compared to large volume of books in computer and internet engineering. That alone makes this book unique and especially interesting to read. And peel off the some time self-centered rhetoric, the life lessons from the author is actually of great value to young engineers. The struggles he faced within large organization, and the efforts he made to become a respected and intelligent engineering leader in a place like JPL is well worth the time and effort.

Overall, I think the two most valuable points to take away from the book are:
1. Work hard and think thoroughly, communicate with well-considered answers, and help …

The book was not well structured or edited, and probably wraps a little more technical and personal details than necessary. It reads like a lightly edited oral interview except for the epilogue.
That being said, there is a lack of books in the genre of traditional engineering, compared to large volume of books in computer and internet engineering. That alone makes this book unique and especially interesting to read. And peel off the some time self-centered rhetoric, the life lessons from the author is actually of great value to young engineers. The struggles he faced within large organization, and the efforts he made to become a respected and intelligent engineering leader in a place like JPL is well worth the time and effort.

Overall, I think the two most valuable points to take away from the book are:
1. Work hard and think thoroughly, communicate with well-considered answers, and help other people and achieve goals. Greatness can be achieved, while the good person will be vacuumed up in any reasonable organization.
2. Strike the right balance between risk and solutions, engineers are not paid to do things right, but to do things just right. The lowest risk solution that just meet the requirement, even it might be low-brow at times, is the best solution under most circumstances.