Do You "Wind Your Watch"? You Should...

A grizzled old airline captain named Joe was called into the chief pilot's office one day and told that he needed to go in for a flight review in the airline's newly installed computerized simulator.    This would serve as his six month check ride as well as allow the airline to evaluate the usefulness of the simulator and its instructors, as Joe was one of the most experienced pilots on the line and had an excellent safety record.

At the appointed time, Joe showed up and after a bit of paperwork was escorted to the simulator.   He "flew" the routine procedures first, and then proceeded to practice the emergency procedures.    The simulator instructors caused all manner of problems for Joe - an engine would quit, instruments would stop functioning, the landing gear would not come down, and so on - in order to test Joe's ability to handle emergency situations safely.  

At the end of the session Joe received near perfect marks.   In fact, the only criticism the young instructors had of the veteran pilot was that whenever an emergency occurred, Joe wouldn't spring into action right away - he would instead wind his watch for a moment.   The instructors felt that this was an odd practice, since the emergency at hand was clearly far more critical than almost anything else.   When they mentioned this to Joe, his response was simply, "Son, I've never accidentally killed anyone while winding my watch and considering the situation at hand."

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In the often hurried pace of today's business world, leaders are presented new information and asked to make decisions or take actions almost immediately.   Few situations, however, are actually so critical as to truly require immediate action.    Taking a moment to consider not just the most obvious option, but additional alternatives as well, is the mark of a true professional.   Indeed, compounding a dire situation with a bad choice because the person in charge felt that doing something - anything - right now only leads to more emergencies.     Such a process will feed on itself, in what could be referred to as a negative feedback loop.

The next time you find yourself in a situation which seems like immediate action is needed, stop for a moment and "wind your watch" while you mentally take a step back and consider your next steps.   You might find the situation not quite so dire, and find that there is an elegant solution just waiting for you to step back and see it.

I've heard it said that it takes a jerk to have a knee-jerk reaction, and I've found that folks who are thoughtful about their actions are much more pleasant to work with in addition to being better leaders.   What do you think?