Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
need for checklists in daily life
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130806173515-28893870-change-your-habits-with-a-good-checklist?trk=tod-home-art-list-large_0
When I was 21, the U.S. Navy taught me how to fly an airplane.
We practiced for a while in a flight simulator, and eventually the opportunity came to do the real thing.
With an instructor sitting behind me in the cockpit, I started the engine, taxied out to the runway, got clearance for takeoff, set the power, scanned the instruments and released the brakes. For a guy who had always dreamed of flying, this was pretty exciting stuff! As we raced down the runway and lifted off, I savored the moment.
“Is there anything you want to do now?” the instructor asked, shortly after we were airborne.
“No,” I said. “Everything seems to be going well.”
“Do you notice anything about the aircraft?” he insisted.
Well, now that he mentioned it, the plane was kind of slow. I re-checked the power settings, which were correct. The instruments looked good. What was dragging us down?
“The gear,” the instructor said. “You still have your landing gear down!”
And so began my first flight – and a lasting lesson in why checklists matter.
We’re not talking here about the daily checklists we make of activities and meetings that need to get crossed off, though there’s definitely a place for those. We’re talking about a well-considered, time-tested list of steps to go through every time we tackle a challenge, especially if the task is new to us or if we’ve done it so many times we’re tempted to take shortcuts.
Had I followed the standard checklist thoroughly, I’d have seen that putting up the landing gear was the first step in the climb checklist. For young pilots, it quickly became apparent that checklists not only increased your chances of mission success; they quite literally kept you alive. They became your de facto instructor, even when there was no longer a breathing one sitting behind you.
Otherwise, you’re making up your approach every time you leave the ground, hoping you don’t overlook something critical. And in flying, as in business, that’s when you’re asking for trouble.
In recent months, my organization has added a couple new members to our senior management team. As the interviews unfolded, it was fascinating to observe the various approaches that my colleagues took in ranking candidates. Some leaned heavily on intuition, some on complicated scoring systems.
Others leveraged gut instinct but drew first on detailed checklists of the skills, experiences and character they were looking for in candidates. Their recommendations were always the wisest.
As a leader, you learn that checklists not only position you for favorable outcomes, whether you are considering an acquisition, creating a product or developing a new strategy; over time, checklists provide a framework that can transform us as individuals and organizations.
As David Maister explores in his provocative essay “Strategy & the Fat Smoker,” there’s no simple way to change deep-seated behaviors, to take the routines and habits accrued over decades and mold ourselves into something better overnight. There’s really only one way to change ourselves or our organizations: Identify the behaviors we want to alter, make a list of actions that will help drive that change and then follow through on them relentlessly.
Using checklists is a matter of discipline, not genius. So we need to stick to them day after day, even when it seems impossibly tedious. Over time, we significantly change the way we act. And by always keeping the right checklist nearby, we minimize the risk of slipping back into old, bad habits. That’s why I was still carefully following my aircraft checklist all the way through my final flight as a Navy pilot – 30 years after the first one.
What kind of checklists do you keep now as an individual leader? What about your organization? They’re the best guarantee that you and your organization will keep climbing
When I was 21, the U.S. Navy taught me how to fly an airplane.
We practiced for a while in a flight simulator, and eventually the opportunity came to do the real thing.
With an instructor sitting behind me in the cockpit, I started the engine, taxied out to the runway, got clearance for takeoff, set the power, scanned the instruments and released the brakes. For a guy who had always dreamed of flying, this was pretty exciting stuff! As we raced down the runway and lifted off, I savored the moment.
“Is there anything you want to do now?” the instructor asked, shortly after we were airborne.
“No,” I said. “Everything seems to be going well.”
“Do you notice anything about the aircraft?” he insisted.
Well, now that he mentioned it, the plane was kind of slow. I re-checked the power settings, which were correct. The instruments looked good. What was dragging us down?
“The gear,” the instructor said. “You still have your landing gear down!”
And so began my first flight – and a lasting lesson in why checklists matter.
We’re not talking here about the daily checklists we make of activities and meetings that need to get crossed off, though there’s definitely a place for those. We’re talking about a well-considered, time-tested list of steps to go through every time we tackle a challenge, especially if the task is new to us or if we’ve done it so many times we’re tempted to take shortcuts.
Had I followed the standard checklist thoroughly, I’d have seen that putting up the landing gear was the first step in the climb checklist. For young pilots, it quickly became apparent that checklists not only increased your chances of mission success; they quite literally kept you alive. They became your de facto instructor, even when there was no longer a breathing one sitting behind you.Otherwise, you’re making up your approach every time you leave the ground, hoping you don’t overlook something critical. And in flying, as in business, that’s when you’re asking for trouble.
In recent months, my organization has added a couple new members to our senior management team. As the interviews unfolded, it was fascinating to observe the various approaches that my colleagues took in ranking candidates. Some leaned heavily on intuition, some on complicated scoring systems.
Others leveraged gut instinct but drew first on detailed checklists of the skills, experiences and character they were looking for in candidates. Their recommendations were always the wisest.
As a leader, you learn that checklists not only position you for favorable outcomes, whether you are considering an acquisition, creating a product or developing a new strategy; over time, checklists provide a framework that can transform us as individuals and organizations.
As David Maister explores in his provocative essay “Strategy & the Fat Smoker,” there’s no simple way to change deep-seated behaviors, to take the routines and habits accrued over decades and mold ourselves into something better overnight. There’s really only one way to change ourselves or our organizations: Identify the behaviors we want to alter, make a list of actions that will help drive that change and then follow through on them relentlessly.
Using checklists is a matter of discipline, not genius. So we need to stick to them day after day, even when it seems impossibly tedious. Over time, we significantly change the way we act. And by always keeping the right checklist nearby, we minimize the risk of slipping back into old, bad habits. That’s why I was still carefully following my aircraft checklist all the way through my final flight as a Navy pilot – 30 years after the first one.
What kind of checklists do you keep now as an individual leader? What about your organization? They’re the best guarantee that you and your organization will keep climbing
Monday, August 5, 2013
Eric barker posts
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/change-for-the-better/
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/change-for-the-better/?utm_source=%22Barking+Up+The+Wrong+Tree%22+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=79d01e7cee-read_7_28_137_27_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_78d4c08a64-79d01e7cee-49197013
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/10-videos-inspire-think/
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/7-research-based-time-savers/
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/change-for-the-better/?utm_source=%22Barking+Up+The+Wrong+Tree%22+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=79d01e7cee-read_7_28_137_27_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_78d4c08a64-79d01e7cee-49197013
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/10-videos-inspire-think/
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/7-research-based-time-savers/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)