PRINCIPLES
The word Principle is a homonym, which means it has two different meanings. On the one hand, a principle can be defined as “the way something works” and there are underlying principles of Excellence that need to be understood and applied to achieve both organizational and personal success.
The other definition of Principle is “values or an ethical standard. ” In a very real sense, your principles define who you are, the things that are important to you and what you will ultimately do. Ethical based principles are the underpinning for long term, sustainable achievement in both your professional and personal life. Integrity is the first of the core values at the Air Force Academy, my alma mater, and it is critically important to understand why it is the foundation for the pursuit of Excellence, the Academy’s third core value.
PEOPLE
My mom used to tell me when I was a young boy; “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” You’ll learn why your flight to Excellence requires the right people; ethical, positive thinking, intelligent, and motivated people as members of your flight crew.
We are all the Captains of our own lives, both professionally or personally and it is our responsibility to pick wisely when we can choose. We also have an obligation to nurture, mentor and take care of the people we lead. You don’t want to be the smartest person in your group because great leaders surround themselves with people who are smarter, better connected and more experienced than themselves. People are the most valuable resource in any business and bringing them together as one focused and unified team is the essential factor for organizational Excellence.
FLIGHT PLAN
I have flown numerous Air Force missions, and millions of miles as an airline pilot but have never once taken off without knowing exactly where I intended to land. Likewise, it is critically important to look to the future and have a clearly defined vision about where the organization wants to go or where the team member wants to be rather than trying to figure out where the possibilities might lead.
Focus is critically important and you’ll learn the SOAR + T model of building a workable plan. Some things are too essential to try to commit to memory, which is why it is critically important to have your destination defined and the route detailed and written down. It is not by chance that in the aviation business, pilots follow detailed flight plans and written checklists even though they perform the same procedures every time they take off.
PERFORMANCE
You’ve got solid Principles, have completed a great Flight Plan and have a talented and brilliant Flight Crew. Now you, the Captain have to take Action to execute yourFlight to Excellence. You have to push up the power, steer the jet down the runway, pull back on the controls and get that giant metal bird in the air. Once airborne, you’ll be able to pilot that jet to incredible altitudes and travel great distances to any point in the world.
Achieving great heights and traveling far in business and life requires taking action, as well. Action is the jet engine that propels you or your organization toward achieving Excellence and accomplishing your goals. Of course it is human nature to procrastinate and I’ll show you and your company how to take action with a bias for maximum performance.
