LEADERSHIP MESSAGE “We’re working to break the myth that the next satellite, next airplane or next technology will cost more than the last.” BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2013 7 Turning ideas into reality, affordably Employees thrive on the challenge of making the impossible possible through innovation, collaboration Darryl Davis President, Boeing Phantom Works Engage to understand, innovate to compete, prototype to win. That’s how Phantom Works does business, and it’s how we’re working closely with our Boeing business partners to break the development-cost curve that threatens to price any new program beyond the reach of customers’ budgets. Being at what I like to call the “pointy end of the spear” in our business means it’s our responsibility to learn what our customers need; discover how to satisfy those needs; and demonstrate the capability, service and affordability only Boeing can offer. Hand in hand with the other Boeing Defense, Space & Security business units, as well as Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Engineering, Operations & Technology, we position people, processes and technology to the best advantage for the company, our customers and our shareholders. Sometimes we focus on completely new products. Other times we look to extend established franchise programs. We encourage, appreciate and depend on the contributions of employees across the enterprise to support these efforts. (Joining the DreamStarter conversation on inSite, for example, is just one of many ways employees can become engaged.) Recently we introduced Phantom Phoenix, a family of small satellite prototypes that completes the Boeing range of satellites. (See Page 24.) Quickly and collaboratively, as this story shows, we’re working to break the myth that the next satellite, next airplane or next technology will cost more than the last. It’s exciting to see empowered teams dig in, raise development to the next level, and turn ideas into reality for the benefit of our customers. Every program informs and influences our next opportunity; that leads to future business and creates entirely new global market opportunities. Our customers acknowledge that we’re stepping out in this way. They appreciate that we’re bearing the risk instead of them having to do so. With risk comes uncertainty. Phantom Works employees thrive on a challenge, a bar set high, the opportunity to do things no one else has figured out how to do, to accomplish what seems impossible. We learn every minute we are building and testing new ideas—not only when we succeed but when we fail. Doing things differently occasionally means failing, but sometimes that’s the only way to innovate. Ever since I set off in this business 30 years ago I wanted to be building and testing things—and our Phantom Works team today is no different. What we do is exhilarating and a source of great personal and professional reward. That’s especially true when we know the Boeing enterprise supports Phantom Works’ efforts to engage, innovate and prototype, and that our customers value all the exciting developments that Boeing brings to the marketplace. n PHOTO: boeing
Frontiers August 2013 Issue
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