What will you declare for Reliability in 2024?

In the realm of reliability leadership, we're not just administrators of the status quo; we're architects of the future. This future, I'm talking about, isn't the one that rolls in inevitably, and you drift with it like a tide. That's the default future - unremarkable, predictable, and not requiring the touch of true leadership. If that's all we're aiming for, then standard management practices suffice. But, as we know, the essence of reliability leadership lies in transcending this default “drift”.

Here's where the power of declaration comes into play. It's not just about making a statement; it's about forging a reality. Think of the Declaration of Independence. In one historical moment, a new nation was conceived, not just in thought, but in the very fabric of reality. That's the power of a declaration. It's not wishful thinking, like those fleeting New Year's Resolutions we often forget by February. It's a commitment, a pledge to bring about a future that wouldn't exist without our intervention.

When we declare something - whether it's a commitment to quitting a bad habit or achieving a professional goal - we're not just talking. We're setting the stage for action. Martin Heidegger, the German philosopher, talked about creating a "clearing," a space where new possibilities can take root. That's what a declaration does. It transforms 'someday' into 'today,' making the future tangible and immediate.

"A declaration is actually one of the few words that is also an action. Linguistic specialists call it a speech act. The power of declaration, is using your word to bring forth or evoke a future as possibility – a future you are standing for, and you can be counted on to view what you are dealing with from the perspective of and act consistent with that possibility realized." - Terrence O'Hanlon

In the context of reliability, this means working with your team to craft a declaration of reliability. But it doesn't stop there. You need to stand by that declaration, embody it with integrity and authenticity, and then act - not just any action, but committed, purposeful action. It's this action that bends the arc of reality, moving us from the mundane default future to a future we've consciously shaped.

Margaret Mead and Steve Jobs understood this. Mead believed in the power of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Jobs saw our role as making a dent in the universe. That's the essence of reliability leadership - to not just exist, but to actively shape the world we inhabit. It's about taking the helm and steering, not just riding the waves of inevitability.

As a Reliability Leader, your power equals the function of the rate at which you translate your intention into reality:

? P= f (rate, intention)

Reliability Leaders know that the world will not change because of your intention, your opinion, your feelings or your knowledge. The world only changes and reorganizes itself based on your effective actions. Declaration is the first step.

The photo below shows a true Reliability Leader and multiple Uptime Award winner, Eric Ayanegui of Cintas with their original Reliability Declaration, a powerful stand that was not so at the time the stand was created. It is important to remember that declarations do not require evidence to prove their possibility. Speaking it creates the possibility as you can verify with Gandhi, Churchill, JFK and many other declarations that have changed the course of history and had no evidence to support them at the time they were made.

By practicing Reliability Leadership with integrity, authenticity and responsibility, the Cintas team achieved everything stated in their declaration and so much more.

They created a future that was not going to happen anyway.

What will you declare for 2024?

Please post below or send me a private message and I will be a committed listener.