Critical Skills

“Ninety percent of solving any problem is recognizing you have a problem in the first place.”

In 1954, the Navy lost 776 aircraft. By 1996, that number had fallen to 39 — a reduction of nearly 95%, achieved not through safer aircraft alone, but through a change in mindset. The Aviation Safety Center, a standardized Aviation Maintenance Program, Advanced Training Squadrons, Standardized Operating Procedures, and the Navy Fighter Weapons School — TOPGUN — rebuilt Naval Aviation from the inside out.

The shift was as much cultural as procedural. In the 1950s, the prevailing mindset was that flying jets was dangerous business, and losses were simply part of it. By the 1990s, that had inverted: aircraft were expensive resources, and perfection was attainable. That same mindset shift is what Jeff brings to the organizations he works with — the Seven Critical Skills that make it possible.

1. DM

   Decision Making

   Choose a course of action using sound judgment based on all available information.

2. AS

   Assertiveness

   Actively participate, and maintain a position until convinced by the facts that other options are better.

3. MA

   Mission Analysis

   Develop short- and long-term contingency plans; coordinate, allocate, and monitor resources.

4. CM

   Communication

   Clearly and accurately send and receive information or commands, and provide useful feedback.

5. LD

   Leadership

   Direct and coordinate the activities of the team, and encourage team members to work together.

6. AD

   Adaptability

   Incorporate new information, and maintain constructive behavior under pressure.

7. SA

   Situational Awareness

   The degree of accuracy by which one's perception of the current environment mirrors reality.

Jeff has helped businesses around the world put the Seven Critical Skills into everyday practice. His clients learn to recognize complacency before its damaging effects take hold, setting the bar higher as they learn to compete with themselves — not others. He also gives back to the community that has done so much for him, teaching a Corporate Leadership Program based on the principles of TOPGUN at the University of Cincinnati Lindner College of Business.