Kelly Johnson's 14 Rules & Practices.
documentedframeworkPrivate Aerospace Contractors
Kelly Johnson's formalized (~1954) management doctrine for the Skunk Works: total managerial autonomy, viciously restricted headcount, small expert teams, delegated testing, timely funding, mutual military-contractor trust.
A 14-point operating playbook that enabled the Skunk Works to deliver the U-2 in ~18 months and the F-117 only 31 months after the full-scale go-ahead. Core tenets: the program manager reports to a division president or higher with near-complete control; the number of people connected to a project is 'restricted in an almost vicious manner'; small, flexible drawing/reporting systems; testing authority delegated to the contractor; funding must be timely so the contractor doesn't 'keep running to the bank.' Still cited as an R&D-management blueprint.