The thing that most people overlook about "skunk works" is that they were a manufacturing operation. Their planes were very much designed to be used and maintai

The thing that most people overlook about "skunk works" is that they were a manufacturing operation. Their planes were very much designed to be used and maintained. I've worked in teams that were described as "skunk works," though I'm not sure the ones using that term had actually read the book. But a feature of the teams that were successful, was that the people doing the innovative stuff also had a solid understanding of manufacturing and service. The engineers may have been more conservative than their employers were aware.