How NASA Builds Teams: Mission Critical Soft Skills for Scientists, Engineers, and Project Teams,   ISBN:9780470456484

Customer Rating: 

I wish to add some additional perspective and support to the many positive reviews of "How NASA Builds Teams." I am a career aerospace manager with extensive experience on NASA manned and unmanned systems. I am also pleased to be a long term colleague and friend of the author. I shared some of the same experiences that Charlie Pellerin so passionately discusses in this well written book.
My first exposure to the core 4-D system, central to "How NASA Builds Teams," was about 11 years ago when Charlie Pellerin facilitated a NASA project meeting that I attended as a contractor. It was the first time in over 25 years of attending retreats, workshop, leadership and career development training that I saw in one place a clearly applicable, easily followed, integrated view of important and necessary soft-side management tools and concepts. In "How NASA Builds Teams," Charlie Pellerin provides a scientist/ systems engineers approach to organizing, analyzing, measuring, and improving the behaviors so necessary for team and mission success.
I am now "retired" working as an independent aerospace consultant supporting several companies and serving as an independent reviewer of spaceflight projects. One of the benefits of retirement is I get to choose what I spend my time doing. And I choose to conduct team development workshops using the 4-D concepts in "How NASA Builds Teams" because it works and it provides me with a wonderful way to return something to NASA by helping NASA teams and people be even more effective. Since January 2003, I have done over sixty workshops for 4-D Systems with teams from across NASA. This experience is deeply satisfying as I witness over and over how powerfully effective the 4-D processes are for team development. My only regret is that I did not have the benefit of "How NASA Builds Team" when I was leading teams and managing projects. I consider it a must read for managers on all fields!

Customer Rating: 

Charlie Pellerin's "How NASA Builds Teams" is an excellent tutorial of Charlie's proven 4D System to build highly effective technical teams. The 4D principles have served me well in both my professional and personal life. I have applied these principles on several complex satellite ground system programs to assess, align and enhance experienced technical teams. The 4D principles quickly focus teams on the customer's perspective and understanding driving forces and dynamics across the team. This book clearly describes these principles and the process to employ them effectively to form, manage and lead teams to succeed within a culture of shared vision, mutual trust and appreciation. The author reinforces the process with relevant, real world examples from his extensive leadership experience. Charlie takes the complexities of building effective teams and puts it all into an easily implementable framework. The 4D System is an absolute must for every team.

Customer Rating: 

Charles Pellerin's book, How NASA Builds Teams, is an extremely useful guide to getting synergy and great results from the teams you lead and serve. Written in a straightforward, no nonsense style, this book helps you see clearly how the context in which teams function can make the difference between smart people falling short together and those same people jointly achieving brilliant results. With that insight established, the book then gives you the tools to adjust and improve team performance, showing how "soft" skills focussed on improving interaction can empower teams to get the solid solutions to hard problems that lead to good decisions. Having taught leadership and team building for the Navy for many years and now serving as President of the Internatioinal Space University, I know first hand that achieving the promise of great results inherent in effective teamwork is never guaranteed. What is guaranteed is that readers of How NASA Builds Teams will have many more tools in their kit as they seek to get the most from the teams with which they work. At ISU, we have worked for nearly a quarter century to prepare leadership talent for the space sector. Central to that preparation has been an emphasis on the challenges and rewards of building effective teams across differences of nationality, culture, and professional discipline. Dr. Pellerin's book provides us with a powerful tool that should pay dividends in results for all who read it and take it to heart.

Customer Rating: 

Charlie has a very effective approach in dealing with the complicated human dynamics; his approach is one that combines the logical with the emotional, without being touchy feely. Being in an organization that over-values technical knowledge and under-values emotional intelligence, Charlie's approach is a perfect blend of both elements and has helped me over and over in dealing with difficult situations and difficult people. I have been fortunate enough to attend the 3-day workshop and that truly is a valuable tool--one that can be used at home and at work. What I learned there, I have been able to use repeatedly at work, to my benefit and to the benefit of others around me. I highly encourage the workshop to anyone who has to interact with people, in any environment. Consider the book and the workshop an investment. Not only will you benefit from it, your family, your co-workers will benefit from your new perspective and usage of the tools...Also, you must continue to brush up and use the tools learned, or you will eventually slip back to your ways...

Customer Rating: 

I work for a non-profit company that has supported NASA for the past 40 years with University Engagement and technical services. Currently, I am the Associate Director for Program Management on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). This is an observatory flying from a modified 747. Charlie led a workshop for our team and has captured his cultivating stories in his book, "How NASA Builds Teams". He is correct that gathering the team assessment data, follow up to work on issues, and coaching is what makes the 4-D Process valuable for teams. We constantly quote Charlie when we are "feeding the data dog" referring to providing program information constantly to NASA management. I have recommended this book to others who are interested in successful program management.