Would you walk away unscathed if you had to crash-land in the Hudson River?
What if 100’s of other people’s lives depended on it?
Most of us probably wouldn’t. In fact, scary though this sounds, most pilots probably wouldn’t. Here’s why, and what to do about it:
High-pressure situations actually cause a significant decrease in intelligence. To escape from the myopia-induced temporary stupidity trap caused by high pressure, you simply need checklists. These hugely reduce unforced errors.
When you could be in a situation where you can’t easily reach for your checklist, what to do?
You need the checklists in your head. Many commercial pilots don’t have this. It’s not their fault, but it is a problem.
If you’re reading this and you don’t work in aviation, you’re probably wondering what this had to do with you. Bear with me. I’m coming to it.
Commercial pilots are tested on their knowledge. They know when the test is coming. So they study for it accordingly. Once they’ve passed their annual test, although there is a temporary spike in their knowledge and retention of key emergency procedures, this knowledge soon slips from memory.
You may think “What’s the big deal?”
Here’s the big deal. These pilots can pass their tests, but they won’t have a heads-up before a real emergency is about to unfold. The problem lies with the design of the system. If pilots were told that they could be spot tested at any point in time, and their license to fly would be revoked should they fail, then there would be much greater incentive for them to figure out how to keep critical knowledge in their long-term memory, accessible at all times.
People behave according to how we are incentivized to behave.
Now, how about you? You might not have a pilots license to uphold, nor be crash-landing an aircraft any time soon, but how about trying to land a valuable deal?? When was the last time you asked your prospective client sitting across the table to give you a moment so you can refer to your notes from that handy negotiation book you read two weeks ago?
You are probably in situations where you would benefit from having checklists, more often than you think.
And here’s the key: You need the relevant checklists in your head and at your fingertips. All the time.
Here’s an overview of the “how”:
- put your checklists into memory palaces
- ingrain them in your long-term memory using spaced repetition (sometimes referred to as distributed practice).
- follow a process of retrieval practice, rather than just recognition practice.
- become masterful.
For more posts and further detail, check out the private group below.
Talk soon,
Richard
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