Kelly Johnson
1 aircraft·Lockheed Martin·1964-1999
Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson ran Lockheed's Skunk Works with 14 rules that rejected aerospace bureaucracy in favor of small teams, rapid prototyping, and direct communication. The results: the P-38 Lightning, the P-80 (America's first operational jet fighter built in 143 days), the U-2, the SR-71 Blackbird, and the F-104 Starfighter. His management philosophy proved that small, empowered teams could consistently outperform organizations ten times their size.
1960sLockheed Martin
