Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies for Giant Leaps in Work and Life

by Ozan Varol

They were new to the industry. They had the benefit of writing on a blank slate. There were no fixed internal ideas, no long-established practices, and no legacy components. Without the tug of their own past, they could let first principles drive rocket design. Most of us don’t have that luxury. We’re inevitably influenced by what we know and the beaten-down paths walked by the pioneers before us. Escaping our own assumptions is tricky business—particularly when they’re invisible to us.