There is a lingering and often ignored problem for the sat-comms sector. Despite being the most dominant sector within the commercial space economy, a key element of global trade, and a decisive factor in defence, many people do not understand it. That is true for many people even within the sat-comms sector.
Several years ago I spoke with a seasoned employee at a sat-comms company and he told me about one of the all-staff meetings. It had been another hour-long talk by the boss. He talked in nautical terms, of headwinds and stormy conditions, of satellites and spacecraft, markets and missions. Hundreds of people sat there diligently, silently, and unquestioning.
This man then asked me shyly, “…but what’s the difference between a satellite and a spacecraft?”
It’s a fair question. I explained it to him and he understood immediately, but during that hour-long talk, and, most probably, for many talks before, he had not understood what was being presented. He had been confused by the terminology, by the complex dynamics of the business, and by the complex technologies, which were utilised.
He is not an isolated case. I have met many people in the sat-comms business, who lacked a holistic understanding of it. For the industry this is a problem.
But firstly, let’s be clear on something: these people cannot be blamed for this lack of understanding. Firstly, the sat-comms sector is highly complex. It serves complex markets, utilises complex technologies, and operates within complex legal and geopolitical frameworks. Secondly, there is very little good-quality holistic industry training.
It’s fair to ask, why should we care about this? Does it matter, for example, if the finance team doesn’t understand the dynamics and limitations of a sat-comms system, or if the engineering team doesn’t have an appreciation of the market? The finance team crunches one set of numbers, the engineering team crunches another set, right? Can’t everyone just do their jobs and get on with it?
To think this way is to miss a powerful opportunity.
There is great potential in cross-discipline insights, inter-departmental collaboration, and proactive work, which stem from a baseline framework of understanding.
So, what is this baseline framework of understanding? When we start learning a language, we don’t start by learning advanced grammar, reading newspapers, and discussing philosophy. We start instead with simply phrases. When we learn to dance, we don’t start with the choreography of the world champions and the associated technique and artistic expression. Instead, we start with a simple set of steps.
We approach language and dance in a simple way, and gradually build upon this, because it’s effective! This is how we need to approach sat-comms training. Most sat-comms training is a poorly structured, “jump in the deep end” style of information bombardment. This approach is not conducive to learning and, therefore, not conducive to achieving high performance.
The starting point must be relatively simple (a baseline), with which we can connect key elements (build a framework). Appropriate simplicity, connection, and delivery enable understanding.
For the sat-comms industry this is valuable. For example, better industry understanding could enable Sales and Marketing Teams to better present an organisation’s capabilities and enhance sales, Engineering Teams to better address customer requirements, and HR Reps to make better hiring decisions.
If sat-comms businesses want to achieve high performance, they need to support their people to develop a baseline framework of understanding. This all starts by investing in efficient and effective training.