The Luna 3 Mission: Seeing the Unseen Side of Economic Growth
Guest blog by Sanan Tapdigov, LEG ’25
As I reach the end of this marvelous journey with this wonderful team: professors, faculty staff, and teammates – I find myself looking up. Every human being, and perhaps every living creature, knows what the Moon is. Yet, every educated person also knows that from Earth, we only see 59% of its surface. The Moon, so familiar to us, only introduces itself partly. It wasn’t until 1959, when the Luna 3 spacecraft captured the first pictures, that we finally saw the “far side.”
My journey during these last ten weeks was my personal Luna 3 mission. The Leading Economic Growth (LEG) course revealed the unseen side of economic growth to me. It allowed me to look at well-known concepts from a completely different angle, shedding light on the hidden complexities of leadership and development.
Key Takeaways: The Rhythm of Success. One of the most profound realizations I had is that success is not achieved with a single “click.” In the past, I looked for immediate solutions. Now, through PDIA (Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation), I understand that you must be ready to make many clicks, change your rhythm, iterate, and involve others until the result is achieved.
I also learned that Communication is King. You cannot achieve complex goals without it. You must communicate with all agents: beneficiaries, affected parties, and stakeholders. I compare this to the doctor-patient relationship; a patient cannot get the right diagnosis without seeing the doctor in person and communicating their pain. Similarly, LEG taught me that there are always economic opportunities for any country, provided you analyze the situation deeply and make the right diagnosis.
The Growth Challenge: An X-Ray View. These lessons fundamentally changed how I view my specific growth challenge. Initially, I saw it as a task to be completed. Now, I view it as a complex problem requiring a “demand-side” perspective. I realized that no single leader can solve this alone.
My biggest progress was in understanding the main actors involved. Deconstructing the problem using the Fishbone diagram was like using an X-ray to see the broken bones beneath the skin. It showed me the root causes rather than just the symptoms.
Moving Forward: The Conductor. How will I use this? I am no longer trying to play every instrument myself. Instead, I will use these skills to engage the proper actors, proper instruments and proper musicians and orchestrate the process like a conductor in an orchestra. I aim to bring harmony to the various stakeholders to drive real solutions. I aim to make proper “clicks” with proper rhythms, to use X-Ray and build proper Communication to make right diagnosis.
What’s Next? As I look to the future, I am eager to learn more about the operational side of these concepts. My open question for the next course would be: How do we best handle the precise planning and scheduling of public project implementation once the policy is defined?
I am off to another trip of life, but this time I am armed with new knowledge, a new network, and a newfound self-confidence. Thank you, LEG team!
Group photo from LEG
This is a blog series written by the alumni of the Leading Economic Growth Executive Education Program at the Harvard Kennedy School. 63 Participants successfully completed this 10-week online course in December 2025. These are their learning journey stories.