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BUSINESS NEWS LOCKHEED MARTIN SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATES FIRST MODERNIZED A2100 SATELLITE A team of engineers and technicians at Lockheed Martin has completed the integration of the company’s first modernized A2100 satellite. The spacecraft, known as Hellas- Sat-4/SaudiGeoSat-1, now moves into final assembly and testing, on track for launch in the second quarter of 2018. Built for Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia, the satellite will provide advanced telecommunications capabilities, including television, internet, telephone, and secure mode communications, to customers in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. “We’ve modeled this activity in our virtual reality lab hundreds of times, but this is the first

time we’ve performed the integration activity of our modernized A2100 satellite in a clean room,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems. “Mating the scalable modules together in a precise method was a critical step for the program, and the team did an exceptional job.” This milestone on a modernized A2100 satellite sees the hybrid propulsion integrated with the payload module and transponder panels. Using a combination of electrical Hall current thrusters and liquid apogee engine, the propulsion subsystem serves as the structural backbone of the satellite and is essential for maneuvering it into its final orbit as well as keeping it on station throughout its mission.

The modernized A2100 builds on a flight- proven bus that is the foundation for more than 40 satellites in orbit today. Through an internally-funded, multi-year modernization effort, Lockheed Martin has enhanced the spacecraft’s power, propulsion, and electronics, while also adopting the latest advanced engineering and manufacturing techniques to decrease production costs and timelines. There are five modernized A2100 satellites currently under contract to Lockheed Martin. They are designed for a host of missions and customers around the globe. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide.

applies to training and mentoring, but also to learning from failed ideas that didn’t quite pan out. Each experiment leads to valuable knowledge that your firm can use to improve. ❚ ❚ Give employees ownership. This can be stock, profit-sharing, or simply ownership of a project/program. Everyone wants to feel like they have a say in the direction of the firm. Your peo- ple will reward you with innovative solutions to drive growth. ❚ ❚ Realign incentives, both financial and nonfinancial to encour- age the behavior you’d like to see. This includes the freedom to fail. Every idea will not be a success and you want to en- courage a mindset that leads to action without immediately short-circuiting the process. ❚ ❚ That said, you will have to determine a process in which to gather, filter, and execute on ideas. There is a limited amount of capital, time, and energy. You must determine which ideas to prioritize. The faster you can move, the better. If some- thing is not working, learn from it and move on. ❚ ❚ Finally, empower your employees with the expectation of as- sessing risk. If you expect everyone to innovate, you should also expect everyone to identify risks and determine solu- tions to mitigate those risks. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in his 1836 work, Democracy in America , that “The Americans always display a free, original, and inventive power of mind” while speaking of the entrepreneurial and innovative nature of our young country. Put this power to use for your firm. Intentionally create a culture full of entrepreneurial spirit, “intrapreneurs,” or co-entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter what you call them, they will invigorate your firm with growth and excitement. PHIL KEIL is a consultant with Zweig Group’s M&A services. Contact him at pkeil@zweiggroup.com. “Intentionally create a culture full of entrepreneurial spirit, ‘intrapreneurs,’ or co- entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter what you call them, they will invigorate your firm with growth and excitement.”

PHIL KEIL, from page 3

culture and what is right for your firm. But no matter the size of the organization or its focus in the A/E industry, an entrepreneurial spirit is always attractive. From management on down, an entrepreneurial strategy means your people are more proactive, innovative, and they take more risks. These qualities all fuel growth and increase value. So how do you make that happen? You’ll need to provide your people with the means, the motive, and the opportunity to be more entrepreneurial. There are obstacles, of course, three of which we hear about all the time. The number one problem is that people are too busy to worry about innovation or marketing. We all have huge workloads and want to stay billable, but innovation and marketing are just as important. The second is a lack of support from management for trying new things. Failure is not often celebrated. The fear of failure can be crippling, especially when you lack support, guidance, and cover from above. “The number one problem is that people are too busy to worry about innovation or marketing. We all have huge workloads and want to stay billable, but innovation and marketing are just as important.” Finally, we hear there is a lack of incentives to pursue entrepreneurial ideas. There are obvious risks associated with taking chances, but you can’t shy away from the pursuit of possibilities. You want to nurture meritocracy, not entitlement. So where do we start? ❚ ❚ Get the message out. Constantly communicate that innova- tion is valued, especially when it directly impacts and im- proves service to clients. ❚ ❚ Celebrate learning. Give ample room for personal growth. This

THE ZWEIG LETTER October 16, 2017, ISSUE 1220

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