一天洛克希德飞机公司的主席——罗伯特·格罗斯对一名设计工程师说:“凯利,7年来你一直为开设工程试验部门的事烦我。我不认为这能带来多少好处,但你放手去干吧。”
这是1943年发生的事,也正是克拉伦斯·“凯利”·约翰逊需要听到的。他已经通过设计P-38“闪电”而声誉鹊起,当然在其他项目上同样表现突出。现在凯利可以追逐更高目标了,就在这次谈话后不久他组建了XP-80试验组。
此后这个试验部们就一往直前地发展,后被称为先进研发项目部,即现在的洛克希德·马丁“臭鼬”工厂,直到今天该部门仍在不断重新定义飞行的标准。如果你回顾过去探寻“臭鼬”工厂70年以来不断取得成功的秘密,你就会清楚地看到一条独特的成功之路。
首先,投资自主研发新技术;其次,寻则合适的合作伙伴,把有前途的研究签订成合同;最后,如果该技术发展良好,且与客户需求相匹配,就启动一个发展项目深入研发。
与“臭鼬”工厂神秘传说中不同,“臭鼬”的商业模式,以及著名的凯利十四条并不是秘密。
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.(项目经理应该有项目的全部管理权,他应该向部门总管或者以上的领导负责,高度自治, 扁平责任链, 避免小官僚干扰)
2. Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry.(小而强的团队是军方或者工业界制胜的关键)
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).(与项目有关的人的总数应该严格控制. 使用少而牛的人(与传统相比, 只要10%-25%的人))
4. A very simple drawing and drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes must be provided.(图纸要很简单,图纸绘制体系灵活性要大以方便修改]
5. There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly.(少写报告,记录重要工作的每步流程)
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.(每月的成本计算和估算都要做, 以给客户最小惊奇)
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.(模块化负责, 而且引入竞争招标)
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.(测试这个事情到细化到最低层次)
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.(各个模块都要有自己单元测试的权利 而且从一开始就要做测试)
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.(如果有某些不能满足的需求 就提前说明)
11. Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesn’t have to keep running to the bank to support government projects.(一次给足钱)
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. (军方和承包商互相信任,紧密接触)
13. Access by outsiders to the project and its personnel must be strictly controlled by appropriate security measures.(注意机密)
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.(奖励,激励)
下面这些照片记录的“臭鼬”工厂的一些著名人物和机型。