Convergent Performance - SM4 Safety Articles & Resources
Staying Engaged: Fighting the Three-Headed Dragon
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, when you live near one.” Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit I’d like to introduce you to KODAPPP –…
Pavlov’s Dogs Had it Right
Note: In the 1890s, a Russian psychologist named Ivan Pavlov noticed that his dogs began salivating even before they were presented with their food—his mere entrance into their room triggered…
You Can’t Handle the Truth!
Lt Kaffee: “I want the truth!” Col Jessep: “You can’t handle the truth!” That’s the famous interchange from the movie “A Few Good Men” when the characters played by Jack…
Centers of Gravity (Living Ones)
Pilots are all familiar with the concept of center of gravity (CG), the fulcrum point around which thrust, drag, lift and gravity work. We know that if this point moves,…
Crushing Groupthink in Pursuit of Safety: A Case Study
I recently had the wonderfully unique experience of working with a group of experts who didn’t give a damn about hurting each other’s feelings. The team was tasked to produce…
A Source of Stability Amidst a Torrent of Change
Our industry is on the bow wave of some of the greatest change in the last 50 years. Tens of thousands of new pilots and maintenance professionals are entering the…
Professionally Uncomfortable
Adapted from Dr. Kern’s column in Skies magazine I usually take great care not to talk about recent mishaps, and for good reason. Typically, emotions are high, and friends and…
Overcoming Temptation
True professionals rarely need to deviate from technical limits, policy or procedure for mission essential purposes, but there are certain conditions that can lead individuals to breakdowns of discipline. In…
Why We are Losing the Safety Battle
As I reviewed the past couple of years worth of depressing safety statistics, it became clear to me that if we want to improve we need to do something different….
