MAINTENANCE MINUTE By Mark Tyler One way to Excellence
Recently, I was asked to be a guest speaker at DaVinciSKY’s annual leadership meeting. DavinciSKY is a business with a long- standing history in the electrical power industry. My topic that day was “One Way to Excellence.”
I believe there are multiple ways to excellence, but it will always begin with desire. Unfortunately, not everyone has a desire to be excellent. It’s our responsibility to fill our organizations with those who care and seek to be the best. We should also invest in continuing education for those on our team who wish to excel.
Another component of being excellent is to serve and work on purpose. The first line of the first page in Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” says, “It’s not about you.” It is our responsibility to serve others. As professional helicopter mechanics, we should make it a priority to learn everything there is to know about our craft and ensure that we always perform to a level of excellence, because the lives of others depend on the quality of our work.
According to Simon Sinek in his bestseller “Start with Why,” we all should know why we do what we do, and put it into words in a personal and professional mission or vision statement. Having this understanding makes your purpose clear, and makes it easier to accept the call when the aircraft is AOG in the middle of the night or weekend work is required to support the customer.
When I spoke at the DaVinciSKY conference, I asked the linemen who worked outside of the helicopter if it was important for the pilot to perform his job with excellence while the linemen were
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hanging beneath the helicopter or working on the skid. I asked the pilots if it was important for mechanics to perform with excellence before pilots were flying inside the wire. The answer from each group, of course, was yes.
The commitment to perform with excellence is the key to making the plan work. Commitment is the driver of action and the glue that holds everything together. In the words of Coach Vince Lombardi, “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”
It’s not an easy task to be a top-rated helicopter mechanic. It takes years of experience and education. It also takes the commitment to persevere through adversity. That is where we will find our victory. Jon Gordon is another author who says that it’s not our goals that will lead us to success, but our commitment to the process.
Desire, purpose, and commitment. These are three of the building blocks that will help us grow to be the best we can be, and keep us on the way to excellence.
About the author: Mark Tyler dedicated the majority of his career to serving the helicopter EMS community, from base mechanic to director of maintenance. As vice president and general manager of Precision Aircraft Services, Tyler now serves helicopter operators from many sectors, including air ambulance, law enforcement, private owners, etc. When not at work, he can be found spending time with his family or sitting in a tree stand.
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