Loonshots

Why it’s on the list: Bahcall — a physicist turned biotech CEO — models organisations as phase-transitioning systems, and argues that the fix for a company that stops producing breakthroughs is structural separation of the loonshot group from the franchise group, not a culture memo.

Where I heard about it

• On Investing Book List (Gavin Baker), Gavin Baker’s May 2020 investing book list (under Strategy, Forecasting, Competitive Advantage and Technology).

• Replies to Sarah Guo — named in the replies to her question on X, March 2025: “is there a book / essay about environments that best support scientific discovery? Not about specifically bell labs, cavendish, xerox parc, los alamos - but why these places were so productive?” The whole list from that thread is on Is There a Book… (tweet).

• Recommended at Capital Camp 2019, as listed in A Berg’s Eye View’s “Lessons (and Books) from Camp”, saved by Kyle in April 2020 — Lessons and Books From Camp (A Berg’s Eye View).

• @patrick_oshag’s thread — named in the replies to his question “Anyone read anything thought provoking lately ?”, October 2026 (@clssctio: “Loonshots. Again.”). Full set of replies: Anyone read anything thought provoking… (tweet).

Connections

• Company Building — the portfolio idea.
• Xerox PARC · Bell Labs — Bahcall’s worked examples of the separation done badly and well.
• Organizational Culture — the thing he argues is downstream of structure, not upstream.