#8

Welcome to Weekly Whispers #8

Which whisper did you hear from Week #7?

Have you given yourself a Mulligan? Too many in the past maybe? 😊

What gets you into form or flow? What takes you out? Do you notice either?

Were you aware of any of your assumptions?

Here's what’s struck me this week.

1. Lessons from Sully

I love watching movies. I love becoming immersed in the narrative and losing myself in the story. I’ve also conditioned myself to seek the lessons from the movies I watch. One particular movie – which I’d recommend – is Sully. The story of the pilot who landed a plane on the Hudson River in NYC when the engines failed after flying into a flock of birds. Disclaimer – you know what happens! Despite knowing the outcome it’s a compelling and gripping tale – predominantly of the aftermath. The final scenes are where I’ve taken these lessons from. 

◦ Sully was the X factor in all the data – the human factor. The human factor is potentially the least reliable but the most innovative and creative when faced with something for the first time.

◦ If you’re looking for human error make it human and do it humanely.

◦ Despite being the pilot he didn’t do it himself – there was an unshakeable belief that everyone played their part.

◦ The airline industry has a culture of forensic "Win Learn Change". Every accident – assuming the black box recorders can be found – is forensically examined and it’s extremely rare for the same accident to happen again. Sully credits this culture which allowed him to do something that had never been done before.

◦ Sometimes the data is wrong or doesn’t take into consideration the human factor. I’ve worked with a client where they were under constant commercial pressure because of the forecasted data only to find out 9 months later that one of the smart consultants from the expensive consulting firm had inadvertently placed the decimal point in the wrong place and no one ever thought to check!

◦ Going off script and beyond the rules is sometimes necessary if you want to, or have to attempt something new and unique – scary BUT necessary. You may learn something you weren’t expecting at all.

How do any of these lessons apply to you and your circumstances?

2. Ric Elias

Ric Elias was someone who was on that flight – seat 1D to be precise. Interestingly, he got back on another flight from NYC that afternoon and has continued to fly regularly ever since. Others who were on the flight have never flown again. I continually find it fascinating how people make such different meanings and consequences from the exact same event. Here’s his 5 minute TED talk which has some interesting points.

3. Quote of the week: "Words create worlds" attributed to many different sources

We know the power of language. We know that small changes (e.g. from but to and; from no to maybe; from me to we) can make a big difference. Our language is often an external expression of an internal perception. We also know that growth can be facilitated from an internal to an external perspective and vice versa. I wonder what would happen if we had our language ‘fat’ checked. Checked for opposites, checked for old stories, checked for bias. I wonder if that would help us pay more attention to the worlds that our words are creating?

4. Question of the week: How are you complicit in creating the conditions that you say you don't want?

I got this from a conversation I was having with a colleague and it got my head spinning. It fully immersed me in the thought pattern about the extent to which I’m responsible for the conditions I’m experiencing. Not everything is my fault of course. And I’m not responsible for everything that happens however the question made me pause for reflection. I wondered how often I absolve the responsibility for the contribution I’ve made and focus the energy of ‘cause’ outside my internal representations? Even just asking myself the question caused me to take more responsibility.

So, make sure your sitting because it might spin you in different directions but I wonder what situations you’ve been complicit in creating (or accepting) that you say you don’t want?

5. Freedom Fridays - My weekly experiment with time and focus

My intention is to openly share a change I’m making within my life. I’m hoping you can take the lessons learnt and apply it to any change you want to make.

This week I touch on my anxiety when not in control and responding to some anecdotal feedback.

Click below to listen to Episode 6.

That's all for this week and I hope you enjoyed Weekly Whisper #8 - let me know if you did.

Cheers

Pete