The struggle with complacency is an ancient one rooted in human biology and our desire to find and follow the path of least resistance, likely developed as a means to conserve energy between meals. But just because there is an innate biological basis for complacency does not mean we must be slaves to it, nor to the “baddies” who manipulate and encourage complacency for their own reasons. Whether it be saving time or resources by not performing adequate safety checks on a factory floor or pushing convenient cures and fast fixes, there are many sources of complacency in our modern world that we all fall victim to at times. Fortunately, the antidote is just as accessible, and it starts with asking questions and sometimes choosing to do things the old fashioned, less convenient way—cook a steak instead of a TV dinner, read a real book instead of scrolling on the phone, or have a face-to-face conversation with someone.
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26:26
Confronting the Future of Leadership (ft. Special Guest, author Tom Casey)
We are confronted on an almost daily basis with a new report about so-called leaders who are removed from their positions for poor performance, scandalous behavior, or the ubiquitous “loss of confidence.” These stories occur so often it makes us wonder if the label “good leader” is an oxymoron, if the art of leadership is dead and gone, and perhaps most importantly, what the future looks like if this is the case. Today’s podcast guest is Tom Casey, a leadership expert, advisor, and author whose latest book on the topic is called “Leadership’s Future—Confronting Not Condoning!” Tom and Tony discuss the traits that expose poor leaders, the qualities that elevate good ones—many of which are unfortunately lacking in today’s corporate, military, and political leadership—and finally, share their expertise on shaping future leaders to be curious, empathetic, and accountable.
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47:19
Making Safety Sexy (ft. Special Guest Max Trescott of the Aviation News Talk podcast)
In this week’s episode, Tony and his guest—Max Trescott, host of the Aviation News Talk podcast—discuss prioritizing safety and the tensions between safety and production as seen in the fallout from a fatal Hudson River crash of a New York Helicopter tour on April 10. Following the accident, the Director of Operations prioritized safety by suspending flights, but was immediately fired by the CEO who resumed operations, but the FAA then mandated they stop again. The two also review the situational awareness and security response of elephants at the San Diego Zoo during last week’s earthquake, before moving on to discuss the importance of safety amidst the ongoing generational handoff occurring in aviation (and many other industries), and how best to make people care enough to prioritize that often unglamorous but always critical topic.
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42:57
Worker Safety and Exploitation, UBI, and Technology Detox
In this week’s episode of Only Human, Dr. Kern covers a couple of stories involving basic OSHA required safety precautions that were ignored in three incidents. The first involves a worker who fatally fell from a scaffold in Madison, WI, the second a hazardous chemical spill at a plant in Toledo, OH, and the last a grain elevator explosion in Nebraska. He also covers worker issues involving companies disguising the efforts of exploited call center workers in the Philippines as “AI” and arguments on both sides of the issue of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a potential solution to raise people above the “basic survival” level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to improve personal performance, self-actualization, and better contribute to society. Finally, he muses on the necessity of modern “technology detox” retreats versus building better daily habits which include breaks from technology to improve our focus and mental health.
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31:46
Only Human – News, Analysis, and Insights from the World of Human Performance
The podcast is re-branding! Over the last few years, we’ve pursued the goal of bridging the gap between who you are today and who you are capable of being by focusing on reducing human error and improving human performance from a mostly philosophical stance. Starting today, we’re centering practical application and real-world scenarios through the lens of the strategies and techniques we’ve been discussing. In this episode, Tony reviews an altercation between on-duty air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Airport, the experiences shared recently by the astronauts who were stranded on the International Space Station for the last nine months, and what both of these stories have to teach us about being Only Human.
About Only Human – News, Analysis, and Insights from the World of Human Performance
Over the last few years, we’ve pursued the goal of bridging the gap between who you are today and who you are capable of being by focusing on reducing human error and improving human performance from a mostly philosophical stance. Starting today, we’re centering practical application and real-world scenarios through the lens of the strategies and techniques we’ve been discussing. In this episode, Tony reviews an altercation between on-duty air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Airport, the experiences shared recently by the astronauts who were stranded on the International Space Station for
Listen to Only Human – News, Analysis, and Insights from the World of Human Performance, The Mel Robbins Podcast and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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