My Zero Incidents Goal

My Zero Incidents Goal 

By Catalina9 

I have a goal of zero incidents at My Amazing Airport or Airline. The regulator has a goal of zero incidents at an airport. An incident triggers a reactive inspection by the regulator, which is an inspection of what occurred in the past and how the airport emergency plan managed the incident. As longs as both the regulator and operator have a common goal of zero incidents life is good. However, if there is a runway excursion by any aircraft operator, the airport is in breach of contract. 

Reaching for the stars is a journey

You may have heard that when you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either. Many lives by a philosophy dreaming about unattainable wishes to navigate through disappointments. They avoid setting goals and goal-achievement plans. Taking the path of least resistance is human nature. Reaching for the starts is much more reliable process than setting a goal to read one book a month. If it didn’t happen you always have away out that at least you tried. All wishes are unattainable, while all goals are attainable with attainable timelines. When you set a goal to read one book a month and each book have 150 pages, read 5 pages a day, 2 pages in the morning, 1 at lunch and 2 at night. Goal-achievement timelines makes a difference. 

Taking the path of least resistance is to avoid attainable goal-timelines. Fear of failure is the reason why someone does not explore their full potential. We don’t like to fail, or not reach a personal commitment. We might be good at setting goals and goal-planning for others, but we are often very reserved when it comes to our own goal-achievement plan. Goal setting is a requirement for an effective Safety Management System. While goal setting is a regulatory requirement it’s also a Safety Policy requirement to design a process for setting goals for the improvement of aviation safety and for measuring the attainment of those goals. Setting a goal of zero incidents is the perfect goal and everyone can rest, sit back and relax and just wait for the goal to happen. When there is an incident everyone feels good since at least they tried. 

Goal setting and goal-achievement is a process like any other hard work. Safety Management System (SMS) is hard work with daily failures. In an effective and true SMS everyone fails and often they might also want to give up on safety. Anyone who expects zero incidents at their Amazing Airport or Airline have already given up on the Safety Management System. 

The first step in goal setting is to decide exactly what in every key area of your airport or airline operations. Start off by Idealizing. Imagine that there are no limitations on what you can be, have or do. Imagine that you have all the time and money, all the friends and contacts, all the education and experience that you need to accomplish any goal you set for your Amazing Airport or Airline. Yes, you can also decide on zero incidents. 

The second step is to write your goals down. Goals must be clear, specific, detailed and measurable. You must write out your goals as if you were placing an order for your goal to be manufactured in a factory at a great distance. Make your description clear and detailed in every sense. Make your goal your goal and not someone else’s goal. Yes, you might also write down a goal of zero incidents when you place this order, including details and descriptions. Your right to set a zero-incident goal can never be taken away from you. 

The third step is to set a deadline or timeline for achieving the goal. Your subconscious mind uses deadlines as “forcing systems” to drive you, consciously and unconsciously toward achieving your goal on schedule. If your goal is big enough, set sub-deadlines.  If for some reason you don’t achieve your goal by the deadline, simply set a new deadline. There are no unreasonable goals, only unreasonable deadlines. Yes, you may set a timeline for zero incidents that includes what actions you must take to reach this goal. A goal without action is just a wish. 

Obstacles are not problems but success.

The fourth step is to identify obstacles. Identify the obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve your goal. The Theory of Constraints is that there is always one limiting factor or constraint that sets the speed at which you achieve your goal. The 80/20 Rule applies to constraints. Fully 80% of the reasons that are holding you back from achieving your goal are inside yourself. They are the lack of a skill, a quality or a body of knowledge. Only 20% of the reasons you are not achieving your goal are on the outside. Start with yourself to achieve the zero-incident goal. 

The fifth step is to identify the knowledge, information and skills you will need to achieve your goal. Especially, identify the skills that you will have to develop to put Your Amazing Airport or Airline among the top 10% of your field. Your weakest key skill is your highest level of goal achievement and your success. You can make more progress by going to work on the one skill that is holding you back more than any other. As yourself the question of what one skill, if you developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on your goal.  What one skill, if you developed and did it consistently, in an excellent fashion, would help you the most to achieve your most important goal. Whatever the skill, write it down, make a plan and work on it every single day. Write down what skills you require to achieve zero incidents in operations. 

The sixth step is to identify the people whose help and cooperation you will

require to achieve your goal. Make a list of every person in your organization and third-parties that you will have to work with or work around to achieve your goal. Start with the members of your own organization, whose cooperation and

support you will require. List your boss, coworkers and subordinates. Especially, identify the customers whose support you will need to reach your goal.

Once you have identified the key people whose help you will require, ask yourself this question; What’s in it for them. Be a “go-giver” rather than a “go-getter.”

To achieve big goals, you will have to have the help and support of lots of people. One key person at a certain time and place in your life will make all the difference. The most successful people are those who build and maintain the largest networks of other people whom they can help and who can help them in return. Identify the person who is most valuable person to achieve zero incidents. 

The seventh step is to make a list of everything you will have to do to

achieve your goal. Combine the obstacles that you will have to overcome, the knowledge and skills you will have to develop, and the people whose cooperation you will require. List every single step that you can think of that you will have to follow to ultimately achieve your goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list until your list is complete. When you make out a list of all the things you will need to do to achieve your goal, you begin to see that this goal is far more attainable than you thought. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” You can build the safest airport or airline in the world by one decision at a time. Decide on your fist step to achieve zero incidents. 

The eight step is to organize your list into a plan. You organize this list by arranging the steps that you have identified by sequence and priority.

Sequence – what do you have to do before you do something else, and in what order.

Priority – what is more important and what is less important

The 80/20 Rule says that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities.

The 20/80 Rule says that the first 20% of time that you spend planning your goal and organizing your plan will be worth 80% of the time and effort required to achieve the goal. Planning is very important. Plan your sequence and priority for your zero-incident goal. 

The ninth step is to make a plan. Organize your list into a series of steps

from the beginning all the way through to the completion of goals for Your Amazing Airport or Airline. When you have a goal and a plan and a plan for incremental safety improvements, you increase the likelihood of achieving your goals by 10 times.

Plan each day, week and month in advance.

Plan each month at the beginning of the month.

Plan each week the weekend before.

Plan each day the evening before.

The more careful and detailed you are when you plan your activities, the more you will accomplish in less time. The rule is that each minute spent in planning saves 10 minutes in execution. This means that you get a 1000% return on your investment of time in planning your days, weeks and months in advance. Plan you first item of your zero-incident goal achievement plan. 

The tenth step is to select your number one, most important task for each day.

Set priorities on your list using the 80/20 Rule.

Ask the question if I could only do one thing on this list, which one activity

is most important. Whatever you answer to that question, put a number “1” next

to that activity. Then, ask yourself, if I could only do one other task on this list, which one task would be the most valuable use of my time. Then write a number “2” next to that task. Keep asking this question, what is the most valuable use of my time on this list until you have your seven top tasks, organized by sequence and priority. Concentration are the keys to success. Focus means that you know exactly what it is that you want to accomplish, and concentration requires that you dedicate yourself to doing only those things that move you toward your goal. Select your task for today’s zero-incident goal. 

The eleventh step is to develop the habit of self-discipline. Once you have decided on your most important task, resolve to concentrate single-mindedly on that one task until it is 100% complete. Concentrate 100% on the task to achieve zero-incidents. 

The twelfth step is the visualization on your goals. Create clear, vivid, exciting, emotional pictures of your goals as if they were already a reality. See your goal as though it were already achieved. Imagine yourself enjoying the accomplishment of this goal. In visualizing, take a few moments to create the emotions that would accompany the successful achievement of your goal. 

The thirteenth step is to do a goal-setting exercise. Take a clean sheet of paper and write the word “Goals” at the top of the page along with today’s date. Discipline yourself to write out at least 10 goals that you would like to accomplish in the next 12 months. State your goal of zero-incidents as though it already is a reality, as though you had already accomplished this.

Zero-Incident Goal Meter Your Amazing Airport or Airline

The fourteenth step is to decide upon your major definite purpose. Once you have written out a list of 10 goals, ask yourself a question if I could wave a

magic wand and achieve any goal on this list within 24 hours, which one goal would have the greatest positive impact on my Amazing Airport or Airline. 

Whatever your answer to that question, put a circle around that goal. Then, transfer the goal to the top of a clean sheet of paper. Transfer your zero-incident goal to the top of the page now, if that was still the major definite purpose you picked.

Children learn easily because they accept each achievement as a great success, no matter what they achieve. Learning the letter “A” is an achievement of success and triggering a desire to learn more. Before you know it, they know the whole alphabet. As we grow older, we self-impose a reality where it becomes a failure to achieve something that is looked upon as minor, or what we believe we should already know or be able to task. For this reason, there are Accountable Executives out there, in your Amazing Airport or Airline who believe training and learning is waste of resources.  

Catalina9