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Bob Mason

Heat, Wind, Sand, and A Critical Mission

The sand suspended in the air was worse than usual. A recent sandstorm had made the air almost opaque and I could only see for a few feet. I could barely see the 26 airplanes parked in front of me, or the approximately 200 mechanics who were working to get them ready to fly. (The picture was taken in the daytime) As I walked towards where I knew the planes were, I could begin to make out their shapes, and see the outline of the troops scurrying about. Within the next hour or so, at least 20 of those airplanes would be airborne.

The airplanes were C-130 transports many of which were more than 40 years old. They had spent their years in hard use, carrying heavy loads around the world often landing in barely improved dirt strips. They were old, tired airplanes. But because of the mechanics that toiled day and night to keep them mission ready, they could still do the job.

Those mechanics worked in conditions that were uncomfortable at best. Read More »Heat, Wind, Sand, and A Critical Mission

Random Musings on Leadership

We think a lot about leadership here at the Daedalus Group and some of those thoughts are even worth sharing! So, from time to time we’ll bring you some of our Random Musings on Leadership. Do you know the mission? When I help organizations create mission statements and goals, I… Read More »Random Musings on Leadership

That Gut Feeling May Not Be Gas – It’s Probably Your Brain Talking to You

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Even though I was new to the organization and not exactly a technical expert on the job itself, I knew we needed to take a specific action. I had a feeling; that famous gut feeling that we all get from time to time. At the time our organization was in the throes implementing Total Quality Management and we were all worshiping the ideas of W. Edwards Deming. One of Deming’s precepts was that decisions should only be made when supported by data; gut feelings were to be suppressed. Since I knew any decision not accompanied by significant statistical data would be questioned, I hesitated and ignored my gut.

It turned out my gut was right. Read More »That Gut Feeling May Not Be Gas – It’s Probably Your Brain Talking to You

How to Make Your Employee Evaluation Process Less Painful and More Valuable

“Everyone can’t be outstanding; therefore, employees should be evaluated such that they fit a normal distribution with some below average and some above average.” That’s the philosophy I was taught early in my leadership career. The general belief was that, while it wasn’t a perfect fit, ratings should resemble a… Read More »How to Make Your Employee Evaluation Process Less Painful and More Valuable