Author: captaindrkev

Human Performance

captaindrkev

…or, more specifically, My Performance

I grew up thinking that I could do anything. Thinking like this was not born out of a highly exaggerated ego; it was born out of necessity. My father, a marine jet pilot, would look at different things and think, “We could do that.” My mother would inspire me and say, “Why don’t you give it a shot?” 

Our application of this thinking was true for anything related to cars, engines, gardens, woodwork, plumbing, construction, reconstruction, camping, boating… ANYTHING! We could do it. We certainly weren’t going to pay for someone to do the work that we could do, and if you believed you could do anything, well, there you are. 

Was it true? Nope! However, we have some great stories. 

My career has focused on human performance. How a human approaches work has been my research and passion for many years, and formed the basis of all of my companies. We start from the premise that every process, every role and every human can improve. In a dynamic work environment, this is surely the truth. I’ve conducted cognitive workload assessments, novice to expert studies, and have helped individuals improve performance in their current job roles and their careers. It has been quite rewarding to watch talented people achieve greater levels of success. 

How does this apply to me today? Well, I’ve realized that I need to assess the projects that I want to do based on several criteria: Skill, Desire and an expectation for Quality of the Deliverable. 

Kev

Projects and Retirement

captaindrkev

Viktor Frankl taught us that we feel alive and in charge when we are engaged and have a purpose in life. For me, that means the things I’m doing are engaging, make a difference and add to my mission. 

In the last 34 years, I can’t remember taking longer than two weeks off from work. I went to Philmont with my son Jake when he was a Boy Scout. It was awesome! Then Greg, CEO and partner at TiER1, took a six-week “time away.”[1] When I saw him afterward, he said it was invigorating, allowed for creativity, and he was able to view problems/opportunities in a different light upon his return. He loved the experience. 

To be true, I don’t think of this as a burden as I have loved my work at Sea Scuba, MPI, TiER1, and the University of Tampa. It has been challenging, full of promise and kept me engaged. Then, the promise/threat of retirement? Uh, oh! I used to tell Jane all the time that I had zero desire to retire. She suggested I rethink what retirement would look like… hmmm?! 

The hardtop project[2] made me rethink the possibility of retirement. What would I do? Would I fail, Dr. Frankl? Self-knowledge is a tricky business and I know one thing: I love projects. 

Let me define what I mean by “project” – for me, a project must have a:

  1. Clear and specific deliverables. For example, build a pizza oven, hardtop for the boat, cigar humidor, or finish the basement. 
  2. Timeline for completion. Your project can be a five-day project or a five-year project. 
  3. Realistic evaluation of my skill level to complete this deliverable. Since I studied human performance, I typically break projects into Builder, Craftsman, and Artist categories.[3]
  4. Realistic evaluation of my “desire” to finish the project. I’m a great starter; I fade and get bored, then slug through to completion. Not being realistic here drastically affects #1. 

Projects help me maintain some mental health. I wrestle with the project all the time; I sketch drawings, do research, buy tools (always a goal of the project), and save tons and tons of money by doing the work myself. Yes, it takes time. Yes, my projects are a burden on others by taking space in the garage, dusty workspaces and stinky smells. Yes, in some cases, it consumes me for days and days. Yes, it gives me purpose, helps my mental health and gives me hope that I can retire. 

Kev

[1] I purposely do not use “sabbatical” here as my five years at the University have showed me these are boondoggles for non-high-performance environments. Using discipline and scripting objectives as a “time away” experience seemed more appropriate. This is what Greg accomplished. 
[2] You can read about this here: Hardtop Project, you can do it! 
[3] Manage your skill level on ANY project: Be honest…