Apply this Aviation Technique to Work Through Business Problems
Mentour Pilot is a YouTube channel hosted by Captain Petter Hornfeldt, a Boeing 737 pilot who talks about flying, how aviation works, and what goes on behind the scenes in the industry. He bills his channel as “The Number One Channel on All Things Related to Aviation.”
Captain Hornfeldt recently outlined how pilots deal with mid-air emergencies in an episode called, “How to Deal with Crisis.” He referred to the acronym PIOSEE, which stands for Problem, Information, Options, Select, Execute, Evaluate. I figured if this fram
One Way to Gain Control of an Out-of- Control Project
The experience was harrowing. We were towing a dually truck on a trailer from Louisiana to Georgia and had just gotten on the interstate. My father was behind the wheel with my brother-in-law next to him, and my son and I were in the back.
We had just about hit 60 MPH when an 18-wheeler flew by. We all felt the trailer being pulled left in the semi-truck’s wake. The trailer then swayed right. The swaying continued, increasing exponentially in magnitude each time until our truck also became caught up in the morbid physics of being jerked from side to side.
Business Lesson Learned from Ordering Korean Bibimbap
A Korean restaurant that serves bibimbap opened near my office a couple years ago. I had no idea what bibimbap was or even how to pronounce it, but was game to give it a shot. Once queued in the line at the counter, I looked at the menu up on the wall. It was in an entirely different language that I didn't speak. Uh oh.
Survey Says? You Need to Do Better.
Companies spend big bucks on customer surveys. Why? Because they want to know how they are doing and areas to improve. As a matter of fact, they can’t get enough feedback. Marketers are typically disappointed with low response rates, viewing every bit of feedback as the gift that it is - where a customer took the time and effort to complete a form or questionnaire rather than take their business elsewhere.
Two Ways to Keep a Boat Out of a Ditch
My friend Ron was looking forward to a beautiful summer’s day on the lake with his boat. He and his family were in the truck towing the boat when something odd happened. The boat that was supposed to stay behind him for the duration of the trip was passing him! That’s right. He looked in his rearview mirror and noticed a very familiar boat in a very unfamiliar position, not behind him, but right beside him. He reduced his speed and watched in terror as the boat veered left and crossed the median into a ditch.
Limit the Options, Limit the Tears
Kathy stood in the cereal aisle at the grocery store and cried. She was staring at way too many choices. She had lived on a small remote island for the past decade where options were limited to a few choices of this, a couple of that. Made things easy. Now back in Atlanta, she was overwhelmed by the rows and rows of cereal boxes, and the challenge of making the right choice.
3 Reasons Ya’ Gotta’ Have a Framework
We all know what a framework looks like. It’s the steel grid of a skyscraper emerging from the ground of a construction site. Or, it’s the metal skeleton of a vehicle creeping along an assembly line towards completion. A framework is the essential supporting structure of a building, vehicle, or object. It’s what everything else is attached to, filled in, and made ready for use.
‘Tis Better to Have Asked and Be Told NO Than to Have Never Asked at All
My brother-in-law is a plumber. He keeps all kinds of plumbing tools and equipment in his truck: pipe benders, borescopes, plumber’s torches, wrenches, pneumatic tools, augers, etc. You name it, he’s got it. As a professional, he knows how to use each one to get the job done.
It would be troubling to hire a professional plumber who asked YOU for a hack saw and basin wrench or worse yet, how YOU would fix the problem. That’s not why you hired a professional!
A Guide to Rating Employees on Annual Performance Reviews
I walked into my manager’s office with a bit of a swagger and a smug look. “Everything for this week is done,” I said. “All project plans have been updated, the communication plan has been revised, the issue with the integration team has been resolved, and I even called the customer and gave them an update on next week’s plans.”
Expecting kudos and accolades, my hopes were quickly dashed.
Start Doing Employee MicroReviews (and How)
Think about the microcosm in which we live. We have microwaves, microphones, microbreweries, and even Micronesia; but, no Micro-Reviews. Why is that? Because we as managers have a tendency to put our employee reviews off until the end of the year, creating a pressure-cooker couple of weeks to cram them in at the beginning of the year.
This year, try doing microreviews.
3 Traits That Will Help Colleagues Looking for Work
I was on vacation when my manager called. “I’ve got good news and bad news. Which would you like first?” I opted for the good.
“The good news is that you can take a longer vacation.”
“Great!” I said. “What’s the bad news?”
“The bad news is that you can take a REAL LONG vacation.”
That’s not so bad, I thought to myself, and then asked, “How long?”.
“Forever….”
How Useful, Usable, and Used are Your Processes?
There’s a concept of product design that focuses on making sure a product is Useful, Usable, and Used. Designers do all they can to make sure their products meet all three criteria. How do your processes stack up in these areas?
Sometimes It’s Good to Stay in Your Lane
“The marketing department doesn’t have a clue,” my co-worker said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“A trade journal has been trying to reach them for an interview but their calls aren’t being returned,” she continued. “This is just the break we need to get our name out there. You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to give them the interview they are looking for.”
Gulp.
Performance Reviews Aren’t Important - Until they Are (PMO Office Hours Podcast)
Listen into this episode of Office Hours hosted by Joe Pusz as we dive deep into how to make performance reviews something to look forward to rather than feared.
Stand Out During Your Next Interview by Using a Professional Portfolio
How do you choose a watermelon? Some people tap it and listen for a particular sound. Others look for a uniform shape. Still others check the color of the side of the watermelon that rested on the ground. So many watermelons in the bin to pick from, but you are going home with just one. Whatever method you use, that one watermelon will have some quality or characteristic that differentiates it from the rest.
4 Steps to Create Your Professional Portfolio
I used to work at a web development company. Graphic design is significant in the success of a site, and we used various graphic designers to fill that need. We were looking for someone new to mix things up a bit. One morning, a graphic designer showed up with a HUGE portfolio of what she had done over the years. Huge, as in 2 feet by 3 feet huge. She dragged it into the conference room, dropped it on the table and started flipping through larger-than-life pages of her work.
The First Question to Ask Yourself When Something Goes Off the Rails
I once worked for a fellow who had a big job; as in, multiple departments and tons of people rolled up to him. His phone never stopped ringing, and in the constant flow of text messages and email the news was, for the most part, not good: there was a problem in this area, that person is quitting, this delivery was late, that system went down. You get the gist.
Yet, he always seemed pretty chilled.
One Way to Take Some Heat Off Your Project
I recently took a shuttle from an off-site parking lot close to the Atlanta airport. It was nearly 100 degrees and extremely humid, so I was looking forward to the doors of the bus swooshing open and a nice, cool breeze escaping and welcoming me inside.
The doors did indeed swoosh open. I stood there for a moment waiting for the cool air to envelope me and escort me onto the shuttle. And I waited…and waited. Nothing. No breeze, no cool air, no relief from the scorching heat. The only thing that came off the bus was the disgruntled voice of the driver asking if I was going to stand there all day.
Lesson Learned During a Chicken Dinner
“Who doesn’t know that…?” I thought to myself as the speaker presented his first point at a PMI project management event.
I took a bite of my chicken.
About midway through his presentation, I again couldn't help but think, “That’s obvious, isn’t it?” while shoveling in some green beans.
My attitude did not improve the more he kept talking.
Where It's At. I Got Two Computers and I Work From Home.
My home office has one monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse. The problem is that I have two laptops: a personal laptop and my work laptop. It wasn't that big of a deal when my work laptop stayed at the office most of the time.
Not so much anymore.