Rocket Lab's Peter Beck on leadership and his passion for bigger, better business

Pictured above: Peter Beck at the 2020 Royal Society of New Zealand awards, credit: Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Founder, President and CEO of Rocket Lab, Peter Beck, has the innate ability to shoot for the stars and reach them – the success of his global business a case in point. Here, he shares with us his passion for entrepreneurship, and mission to get business leaders to make a greater impact on the world.

Since founding Rocket Lab in 2006 Peter Beck has grown it into a global organisation that develops and launches advanced rockets, satellites and spacecraft. Under Beck’s leadership, Rocket Lab pioneered advanced aerospace manufacturing techniques for Electron, including 3D printed rocket engines, electric-pump-fed rocket engines and fully carbon composite fuel tanks.

An award-winning engineer, Beck has been presented with the Gold Medal from the Royal Aeronautical Society, Meritorious Medal from the New Zealand Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Cooper Medal and Pickering Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand. In addition, in recognition of Beck’s outstanding contributions to aerospace, entrepreneurship and technical innovation he was appointed as an adjunct professor in aerospace engineering by the University of Auckland.

This year, Beck will be lending his entrepreneurial smarts and leadership experience to the judging of the inaugural New Zealand Leadership Awards, presented by Robert Walters. He’s excited to help leaders take their businesses to the next level, encouraging them to shoot for the stars.

“I’m on a personal mission to get Kiwis to think bigger, to tackle bigger problems, build bigger businesses, and make a bigger impact on the world. That starts with leadership and these Awards are a chance to shine a light on what’s possible,” he says.

Here’s more from Beck on business leadership and fostering entrepreneurship in New Zealand.

What does the word leadership mean to you?

The ability to see through challenges to an end goal, build an exceptional team to get there, and motivate them to achieve more than they thought possible of themselves.

As an entrepreneur, do you think it takes a special type of leader to make business ventures a success?

Entrepreneurialism is not for the faint of heart. It requires a strong stomach for risk, a clear vision, hunger, and the ability to take hits and keep going. But it’s like a muscle and the more you flex it the better you get at it. While it’s not for everyone, more people are probably capable of it than they realise.

Founding a business with limited leadership experience, how have you gone about developing your own leadership style?

The key principle has been the same from day one – set a clear vision and surround yourself with driven, determined, wickedly smart people who believe in that vision. Then give them the freedom to build and watch magic happen.

Who have you looked up to/ aspired to as a business leader?

I’ve been inspired by many forms of leadership. My parents who encouraged me to take on hair-brained projects, letting me fail, succeed, and learn. The engineers whose shoulders we stand on in the space industry – mostly the unsung ones whose names aren’t in the history books. And, anyone who has built or achieved something in the face of impossible odds is inspiring to me.

As a leader in business, what are some of the biggest challenges you currently face? How are you overcoming these?

Likely the same challenges most growth companies face. Hiring great talent. Maintaining team culture while growing and evolving rapidly. We don’t settle and we’re prepared to wait for the right people, rather than hire “good enough.” It’s non-negotiable as our team, and is why we succeed.

What advice do you wish you had when you were starting out in business?

I don’t wish I knew anything different when I started out. Any mistakes I made were an important part of the process and necessary. Having said this, know what you want to achieve. Stand firm in that when people tell you it’s impossible (and they will). Surround yourself with people who share your goals and want to do hard things alongside you.

You’ll be judging in the start-up category in the New Zealand Leadership Awards. Having successfully and globally scaled your start-up, what’s your advice to young leaders as they look to grow their businesses?

Think big. Prove your concept here in New Zealand but then move onto the world stage as quickly as possible. It takes the same amount of effort, stress, determination, and grit to build a million dollar business as it does a billion dollar one, so think bigger.

Finally, what’s new with Rocket Lab?

In the coming months we’re launching artic climate monitoring missions for NASA, bringing our new rocket, Neutron, to the pad for the first time, building satellites for scientific mission to Mars, helping ground-breaking companies make pharmaceutical products in space, and developing satellite communications constellations – to name a few. So not much!

Read more: Rocket man

Inaugural New Zealand Leadership Awards

Nominations are open for for the inaugural New Zealand Leadership Awards. Presented by Robert Walters and supported by New Zealand Rugby, the New Zealand Leadership Awards will celebrate and honour outstanding leadership across New Zealand’s diverse business and community sectors.

The Awards aim to recognise outstanding leaders, both established and emerging, who are influencing the future of business and beyond.

There are 10 entry categories, including;

SME Business Leadership Award

Large Business Leadership Award

Entrepreneur/start up Leadership Award

Sustainability Leadership Award

Innovation Leadership Award

ED&I Leadership Award

Community Leadership Award

Public sector Leadership Award

Pacifica Leadership award

Māori Leadership award