Decision Height

The typical precision instrument approach, as done thousands of times per day throughout the U.S. and elsewhere, requires the pilot to follow just two instruments in the cockpit: the course deviation indicator (CDI) and the altimeter.    The pilot uses the CDI to keep the aircraft on course, both horizontally and vertically.   The altimeter doesn't provide guidance, but does provide something else that may not be obvious: the point at which a decision must be made.

Most such approaches require the pilot to have the runway environment in sight when they are 200 feet above the ground.   The procedure, therefore, is to look out the window when the altimeter says you are 200 feet above the ground.   If you see the runway, you can continue on and land.   If not, you must execute a missed approach procedure which involves applying power and climbing to avoid the ground.

The key item here is that, like in many projects, there is a point at which a decision must be made.    Successful leaders will have identified the parameters which factor into the decision ahead of time - things like cost, progress to date, risk assessments, and so on - so that the actual decision can be made on a purely objective basis.    When such parameters are not defined, making a go/no-go decision on a project can be a long and drawn out process as emotional or subjective factors are taken into account.   To be sure, there may well be a point in the project where such subjectivity is allowable and perhaps even desirable, but not at a critical decision point.

Another pitfall is that the decision is deferred simply because the decision may be too difficult to make. This indecisiveness can lead to cost overruns, increasing project scope, or additional effort expended on a technically insurmountable issue resulting in lost productivity.

Just as with the pilot guiding his aircraft full of passengers to a safe landing in foggy conditions, leaders need to be aware of their position and be ready to make correct decisions at the correct time based on objective information.   Failure to do so won't help a project, and at worst can lead to a rather sudden and disastrous result.

What kind of decisions do you need to make for your project?    Do you have the metrics in place to objectively make those decisions?

How to Become an Expert in Three Simple Steps

Everyone needs to have some specific area of expertise.   While broad knowledge is useful, one or two areas in which you are deeply knowledgable are important for career and personal growth reasons.   These areas of expertise become what you are known for professionally, and will have a direct impact on your financial growth and security.

Fortunately, the steps required to become an expert in almost any subject are pretty simple:

1) Learn - really learn -  everything you can about the topic

Anyone can read a book or take a class on a particular topic, but that is only where the learning begins.   What periodicals do you read?   What conferences, seminars, or other gatherings do you attend to learn more from other people?   Which blogs do you follow?     These and other sources of information plant the seeds for new thought patterns around the subject and stretch your sphere of knowledge a little each time.

Be careful not to disregard newcomers to the topic or those who know far less than you.   Even if you know 95% of the available information and they know only 10%, their 10% might include the 5% you don't know.

2) Practice the topic daily in some way shape or form

This isn't practicing in the form of mindless repetition each day, but rather thoughtful, intensive application of your knowledge into something real.   You might work on a computer program, work on your car's engine, or some other productive activity.   This can be either professionally or as an avocation, but the goal is to use your knowledge to do something real and practical.

Another approach would be to teach a course or write a book.   Depending on the topic, your local community college may need someone to teach a night course on your area of interest.    Learning by teaching is a time honored way to increase your knowledge of a topic.

This exercise is important because it demonstrates the difference between theory and practice.    Remember, theory and practice are the same in theory but not in practice.   Learning the difference deepens your expertise.

3) Repeat steps 1 and 2

Learning and doing, if done once or twice, may give you a better understanding of a topic but they will not make you an expert.     Malcom Gladwell, in his book "Outliers", states that mastery of a subject requires about 10,000 hours of practice.      This is, obviously, a considerable amount of time - it would be approximately five years worth of full time professional work.   ( At this point, I'd like to specifically point out that I said it would be simple, not easy).

While many forms of advice are given every day about securing your financial future, consider this:  almost all of them assume that you have some area of deep expertise which serves as the engine to power future success.    If you don't have one yet...why not?

Software engineering is my chosen area of expertise, and I can say that with 20+ years of experience, I am still learning new things each day - literally.   Find something you're interested in and go for it!

The Value of Being Wrong

Success.  Winning.  Being Right.   These are things that are highly valued, sought after, and are generally pursued by most people, and rightly so.   However, I think that too often we overlook the inherent value of being wrong once in a while, and that we do so to our detriment.   Just as there is value in success, there is also value in failure - you just need to know where to look.

Knowledge:   The very first commercial software package I conjured up entirely on my own was called "Back In a Flash" and was, I thought at the time, very well done.   Only it didn't work very well - while it generally did a good job backing data up, it was less successful when it came time to restore said data.   It also didn't work with large systems, and was particularly slow.   It was a failure.  The next package I wrote was called "Back Again/2" and incorporated many lessons I had learned from the first time around.   It became the cornerstone of a company a friend and I founded in 1994 and ran successfully until I sold in 2000.      Without the initial failure and the lessons it taught me, I could not have been successful later on.

Practice:   One of the smallest parts on my experimental aircraft is on the tail and is known as the trim tab.   The trim tab is a thing of legend among builders of this particular type of airplane; the angles required for the various bends vex even the most dedicated builder.   I was no exception; I had to build it three times before I got it right.   However, I gained valuable experience in forming aluminum sheet metal, drilling out rivets, and more.      

Perspective:  In the midst of a seemingly important task, project, or other endeavor small problems may seem huge.   Any entrepreneur can attest to this - many problems can seem like catastrophes.     During my time at my first company,   there were many such "catastrophes" which turned out to be nothing more than a minor irritant.   In the midst of the issue, however,  it was next to impossible to recognize that.   The stress and heartburn that was repeatedly experienced (and meted out, too) was not necessary and at the time probably did more harm than good.     Without those problems, however, I would not have gained the perspective that some problems are more important than others, and other problems may in fact not be problems at all.

Humility:  This is perhaps the hardest thing to take away from failure, but it can also be among the most valuable.   Humility isn't about being meek or timid; rather, it is knowing ones own limitations.     I had the opportunity to join an internet startup a while back as a side gig.   I thought it would be exciting, and it was, but I learned the hard way that it is nigh impossible to juggle a full time job, a family, a homebuilt airplane project, and a startup commitment while remaining sane.   I didn't succeed in that endeavor, and I learned where my limits are.   There are folks who could do all that without breaking a sweat, and my hat is off to them - I cannot.

Although success is the ultimate goal, don't discard as useless the failures you encounter along the way.   They may prove to be nearly as valuable as your successes, and perhaps more so - if you're not making mistakes, you're probably not making anything.

One of my worst failures has been failing to learn everything that I could from failed attempts at various things.   How about you?