Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life

by Ozan Varol

The mantra makes sense when you’ve got human lives at stake. But as a descriptor for how rocket science works, it’s misleading. There’s no such thing as a zero-risk rocket launch. You still have to compete with physics. You can plan for some mishaps, but the cosmic banana peel is always around the corner. Accidents are inevitable when you’re creating a controlled explosion in a machine as complex as a rocket. If failure weren’t an option, we never would have dipped our toes into the cosmic ocean. Doing anything groundbreaking requires taking risks, and taking risks means you’re going to fail—at least some of the time. “There’s a silly notion that failure’s not an option at NASA,” Elon Musk says. “Failure is an option here [at SpaceX]. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”9 It’s only when we reach into the unknown and explore ever-greater heights—and in so doing, break things—that we move forward.