Apollo 13 - Crisis, Innovation and Sensemaking

There can be few people that are unaware that Apollo 13 was on its way to the moon when an explosion caused several key systems to fail. Fortunately, the interlinked crises experienced by the Apollo 13 crew have been extensively documented. Using grounded theory techniques, we have analysed these rich data from an organisation development perspective and found that NASA’s ability to respond effectively was enabled by eight interdependent capabilities
that can be adopted by other organisations that need to be resilient in crisis situations. The distinctive capabilities are: (i) active role modelling of an engineering excellence ethos by the upper echelon, (ii) collective utilisation of standardised rigorous problem-solving methodologies, (iii) technology-enabled systemic situation awareness, (iv) extensive and forensic simulations of multiple contingencies; (v) clarity about decision ownership, (vi) aligned granular innovation capability, (vii) proof of the capability of individuals to be efficient and effective, despite adversity and (viii) a heedful group-mind.