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Dr. Ed Hoffman, NASA Chief Knowledge Officer, talks with P.S. 199 5th grader. This aspiring young student explains to Dr. Hoffman that he will one day soon be his boss and he will have to do what he asks him to do... he says, "I will be your boss one day." Photos all credited to Berette Macaulay, SeBiArt.com
From the NASA CKO: Our Knowledge Legacy

By Ed Hoffman   When we’re young, we are excited by our dreams. Our future possibilities seem endless and alluring.

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From the NASA CKO: Living in Uncertainty

By Ed Hoffman Project-based organizations like NASA have a paradox embedded in their DNA: the tension between the organization’s need for stability and the inherent uncertainty of complex projects.

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From the Academy Director: Toward Knowledge Resilience

By Ed Hoffman   Eleven years ago, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report about NASA’s effectiveness—or lack of effectiveness—as a knowledge organization.

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The development of the XV-15 tiltrotor research aircraft was initiated in 1973 with joint army–NASA funding as a “proof of concept,” or “technology demonstrator” program, with two aircraft being built by Bell Helicopter Textron in 1977.
From Masters with Masters: Jack Boyd and Hans Mark

In August 2012, NASA Chief Knowledge Officer and Academy of Program/Project and Engineering Leadership Director Ed Hoffman sat down with Hans Mark, from the University of Texas at Austin, and NASA’s Jack Boyd at the Ames Research Center as part of the Academy’s Masters with Masters series.

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From the Academy Director: Knowledge and the Practitioner’s Mind-Set

By Ed Hoffman   Who is responsible for the knowledge that NASA creates? Since being named NASA’s Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) at the beginning of 2012, I have given this question a lot of thought.

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From the Academy Director: Projects Built Around People and Networks

By Ed Hoffman   What is the most likely culprit in failures to meet grand societal challenges? How do we understand and address the increasing complexity of missions? To rephrase those questions in more general terms: What poses the greatest risk to projects?

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From the Academy Director: NASA’s Knowledge Imperative

By Ed Hoffman Like all large, knowledge-intensive organizations, NASA faces continuous challenges identifying, capturing, and sharing what it knows effectively.

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From the Academy Director: The Appeal of Space

By Ed Hoffman     The first International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held on the African continent was a potent reminder that nations seek the benefits of spaceflight for many different reasons.

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From the Academy Director: Action at the Boundaries

By Ed Hoffman     Many years ago, I was hired to design and implement strategies that supported teams at Goddard. Because performance happened at the team level, the idea was to complement traditional individual-development activities with team support.

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