Iain Christie

The space sector is seeing a shift in funding. Five years ago, private sector funding was on the rise. Government spending was decreasing and appeared set to continue. There were some predictions this "reversal" of capital was going to remake the industry. It didn't. This page is for subscribers only. Already a subscriber? Log in. Fact-driven space news, columns, business, policy, technology and more. Support …

I introduced the concept of complexity a couple of columns ago. In the last column I talked about the effect it can have on organizational culture when it is not recognized or handled well. In this final column on the subject, I want to talk about what can be done when you are faced with a complex project.

In the last column I talked about the concept of complexity as it applies to the management of large projects. In that column I also discussed the fact that the – often unrecognized – effects of complexity can drive organizational culture in ways that are, let’s just say, undesirable. In this column I discuss avoiding blame and seeking success.

This column will be a bit of a departure from the previous few. Here I am not going to be talking about technology, or business, or government policies. But to some extent I am going to talk about the place where they all meet. The Project – and the management thereof.

In the last column I wrote, I talked about the conundrum faced by government policy makers as they attempt to craft programs to help the entrepreneurial space sector.  One of the major dilemmas that they face is that all entrepreneurial companies depend on private investment to survive, succeed and grow.  Helping those companies means being prepared to help investors.

I guess the subtitle of this column should be "can the government really help New Space companies?" The simple answer is - "well not really, if all it does is treat them like Old Space companies." Of course the real answer is a lot more complicated than that. This page is for subscribers only. Already a subscriber? Log in. Fact-driven space news, columns, business, policy, …

In this column I am going to take a slightly different viewpoint than my last two. In the last two columns I provide what I think is sound advice to founders of small businesses on how to deal with customers. In the last column I specifically singled out government customers.

This is another of my columns under the general heading of “advice to founders.” It’s kind of an extension of the last one, but this time dealing with how to deal with the government.

This is one of what I hope will be a series of columns under the general heading of “Advice to Founders.” These are topics that I find I come back to often in my conversations with founders of small businesses and which I think are things that anyone who has, or is thinking about, founding a business should know.

In my work with companies in the space sector I am increasingly seeing what I think is a serious issue that is impairing the growth of companies that seem to have all the factors in place to be successful.