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Going off track(DW #818)

communication trimtab Oct 14, 2020

Yesterday we talked about how great ships can be steered by a tiny Trimtab on the back of the ship on the radar.

Today, let us explore another lesson from another means of transportation.

Airplanes. When we are flying high above the clouds, we can rest easy knowing that the pilot has a flight plan and a destination.

What we may not know, however, is that planes are off course about 90% of the time on the journey!

Yes. 90% of the time for the duration of the flight, air traffic and weather cause the flight to go off the flight plan.

Here is how Stephen Covey explains it in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families:

Before the plane takes off, the pilots have a flight plan. They know exactly where they’re going and start off in accordance with their plan. But during the course of the flight, wind, rain, turbulences, air traffic, human error, and other factors act upon that plane. They move it slightly in different directions so that...

What is your Trimtab?(DW #817)

paradigm relationships trimtab Oct 13, 2020

Do you know what a Trimtab is?

It is a small six-inch wide strip of metal attached by hinges to the trailing edge of a ship’s rudder. As an engine’s hydraulics force the Trimtab into the path of oncoming water, the pressure generated against it assists the rudder in making its turn.

The Trimtab was invented to solve a critical engineering problem at the height of World War II. As the war raged on the high seas, ever-larger battle ships were needed. As the ships grew in size, their steering mechanisms required more power to turn their rudders than their engines could produce. The tiny Trimtab was able to turn and change the course of gigantic ships with minimal power and effort. The revolutionary invention of the Trimtab not only solved this crucial military problem, it also created a new paradigm for human greatness.

It has always fascinated me how such a tiny piece on the rudder of the ship can change the direction of the huge ship.

And it seems that...

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Going off track(DW #818)

What is your Trimtab?(DW #817)

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