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Controlling Risk: Thirty Techniques for Operating Excellence
Jim Wetherbee, the only five-time Space Shuttle commander, presents thirty techniques that astronauts use―not only to stay alive in the unforgiving and deadly environment of space, but also to conduct high-quality operations and accomplish complex missions. These same techniques, based on the foundational principles of operating excellence, can help anyone be successful in high-hazard endeavors, ordinary business, and everyday life. Controlling Risk shows you how to embrace these techniques as a way of operating and living your life, so you can predict and prevent your next accident, while improving performance and productivity to take your company higher
- GenresAviation
362 pages, Paperback
Published November 8, 2016
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 30, 2016
Jim Wetherbee was the only five-time space shuttle commander. When your butt is on the line, he's the guy you would really want calling the shots and pushing the buttons.
"Controlling Risk" is not your average textbook on risk assessment and mitigation. Wetherbee draws on his extensive experience as a Navy pilot, space shuttle astronaut, and consultant in the oll and gas industry to provide seemingly countless examples of techniques for improving operating excellence.
He has included photos from many of his Navy and space missions as illustrations. He even liberally uses photos taken from his car (while stopped) to identify risky situations or ask thought-provoking questions. Does that pack of cigarettes on the motorcycle dash say something about the biker’s attitude toward risk?
Wetherbee brings the book to life with his self-effacing stories and humility. He readily shares many stories of when he screwed up and what he learned as a consequence. For example, he discusses learning the hard way that he had not paid sufficient attention to the procedures for using the zero-gravity toilet before his first space mission.
I learned a lot from this book, and it’s helped me change the way I approach even relatively minor tasks. Starting up my leaf blower, let’s use The Three L’s: Have I Lined up the parts properly? Is anyone in the Line of fire? What’s the List of possible outcomes if something goes wrong?
I also enjoyed trying to put myself in the mindset of someone who has to undertake such complex actions as starting up the hydraulic units on the space shuttle. Of the 22 switches you have to flip, some of them don’t have immediate negative consequences if they’re in the wrong position at the start. But they will blow the back end off the ship once you get into space if they’re set wrong. So you follow the procedures in setting them - but your double-check is to have thoughtfully memorized what the overall pattern of switches should look like.
That’s relatable to the frustration of trying to tell my mother how to turn on the three remotes she needed for turning on her TV and cable system. If she missed a step, she didn’t know what the proper configuration was supposed to look like, so the written procedure was useless at that point.
Wetherbee’s book is a very enjoyable read. Maybe not something you’d take to the beach with you, but it’s very interesting to think about how to apply his techniques to everyday life.
"Controlling Risk" is not your average textbook on risk assessment and mitigation. Wetherbee draws on his extensive experience as a Navy pilot, space shuttle astronaut, and consultant in the oll and gas industry to provide seemingly countless examples of techniques for improving operating excellence.
He has included photos from many of his Navy and space missions as illustrations. He even liberally uses photos taken from his car (while stopped) to identify risky situations or ask thought-provoking questions. Does that pack of cigarettes on the motorcycle dash say something about the biker’s attitude toward risk?
Wetherbee brings the book to life with his self-effacing stories and humility. He readily shares many stories of when he screwed up and what he learned as a consequence. For example, he discusses learning the hard way that he had not paid sufficient attention to the procedures for using the zero-gravity toilet before his first space mission.
I learned a lot from this book, and it’s helped me change the way I approach even relatively minor tasks. Starting up my leaf blower, let’s use The Three L’s: Have I Lined up the parts properly? Is anyone in the Line of fire? What’s the List of possible outcomes if something goes wrong?
I also enjoyed trying to put myself in the mindset of someone who has to undertake such complex actions as starting up the hydraulic units on the space shuttle. Of the 22 switches you have to flip, some of them don’t have immediate negative consequences if they’re in the wrong position at the start. But they will blow the back end off the ship once you get into space if they’re set wrong. So you follow the procedures in setting them - but your double-check is to have thoughtfully memorized what the overall pattern of switches should look like.
That’s relatable to the frustration of trying to tell my mother how to turn on the three remotes she needed for turning on her TV and cable system. If she missed a step, she didn’t know what the proper configuration was supposed to look like, so the written procedure was useless at that point.
Wetherbee’s book is a very enjoyable read. Maybe not something you’d take to the beach with you, but it’s very interesting to think about how to apply his techniques to everyday life.
Displaying 1 of 1 review