What a great time of year to be in Melbourne. It’s Spring and we have so many sporting, arts and entertainment events on; why would you want to be anywhere else? Ok, somewhere hot and lying on a beach or by the pool, rather than the beautiful weather we have had recently, might be a good start, but apart from this, why would we want to be anywhere else!
Now, the best way to travel to these events, especially if you can squeeze in a few drinks with a day or night out, is to catch Public Transport.
Wasn’t it great to get all the information from Jim Betts about the new Public Transport system, we are soon to get here in Victoria? As I mentioned on the day, no matter what you do, someone will always find a reason to complain, that is human nature for us, but many of us human’s tend to do this simply because we do not have all the information regarding the decision or do not fully understand the reason for the change.
Jim took up this very point, when speaking about the new MYKI system. The constant “bashing” of this system has often been by people who do not have all the information, or have not bothered to seek it out; but are happy to make comment anyway. Our sponsor Metlink, did a great job in getting Jim to speak at short notice and if you missed it, you missed a very good and informative presentation.
Some of you know that I spent many years, possibly flying you around the sky. As a pilot, we are taught to make decisions for the safety of the plane, learning procedure that must be implemented if a certain problem occurs. But, as a seasoned, (not too seasoned, but just a spicy tang), pilot, the one thing I learned was to make my first decision, one that decided, if I needed to make a decision. Confused?
A great example of this was the British Airways plane that ran into a cloud of volcanic ash just off the Indonesian coast over 20 years ago; having all 4 engines stop working, in the middle of the night. Close your eyes, imaging you are in the flight deck and think of how you would react. Its pitch black outside; emergency lighting in the plane, a smell of smoke throughout the plane, no engine noise and you have had to start gliding down to stop falling out of the sky, and you do not know why the engines have stopped!
Well, the Captain Eric Moody, who I consider to be a fantastic leader, decided that he did not have to rush a decision. He let the plane start gliding, (just like a normal descent) and started to ask questions of his crew to work out what had caused this problem. Once he had the information he needed – it must have seemed like an eternity, but was only 8 minutes – he implemented the procedure he thought best and saved many lives.
So, why am I mentioning this? (Always work on a good lead in to a story I say).
The other day, an issue came up at work (the paid one) and after having a bit of a tough day, I thought that I should act and act fast. Yes I was mad. After harping on a system that we had put in place and how we expected all staff to follow this simple and basic procedure; they had let me down. The staff involved knew I was frustrated and angry, even though I was doing my best not to show it. Now was the time to act.
As I planned my approach and how I would make it clear, than non conformists would be punished, I remembered touching on Jim’s comments after the breakfast. Did I actually have all of the information?
So, to be true to myself, I started asking the staff, and the client, a few more questions.
Can you guess what happened?
While the staff members concerned were still at fault, the issue was no where as big as I first believed and the issue could be resolved with very little fuss and damage.
Following my own advice, allowed me to highlight to the staff the importance of why we implemented the system; and now they can see the possible consequences of not following procedure, but it also let me make the best decision possible.
MY POINT
As business owners, managers or supervisors, we often become retro-active to a problem when it arises. It’s ok; you are a normal human for doing so. But, if we can train ourselves to stop, think, and investigate and then act, you will find that the decision made will often be a lot better decision than a decision made in haste.
Our next event is sponsored by another fantastic supporter of the Network – Victoria University.
The topic – “Securing a Post-Kyoto Protocol and what it will mean for Australian Businesses”
Now – before you even think, “delete” think again. Have you really considered how the business you own or work for could be affected by a Carbon Trading scheme? I must admit I have, but never really paid it much more thought than that.
So how can we become informed to see if and how it will affect us?
I can think of no better way than to come to the breakfast on the 22nd October, and hear from one of the experts, Tim Wilson, and have a good feed with plenty of networking opportunities.
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