Fast Jet Performance

We think about ourselves a lot. If you were stuck in a cage with a crocodile you'd think about that a lot too but you're not stuck in a cage with a crocodile. But you are stuck with you. And, unlike crocodiles, we humans are easily deluded by the next great thing - I mean, ‘Everything will be OK when…’ 'We get the new car…' 'We get the new job…' 'We move to a better area…' We imagine that when these things happen, everything will be OK. But it won’t. It won’t because we often use these things to replace an emptiness inside of us, a foundational fragility, and if that emptiness isn’t addressed then no amount of cars, promotions or houses will make us happy.Click here for postSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/Fast-Jet-Performance. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We all know that pilots are an overconfident bunch. You've seen the airline captain wearing sunglasses as he walks through the airport terminal or you've met the pilot who insists on telling you what he does for a living before you've even asked.​But pilots are also flawed in other ways. The problem stems from the fact that normally pilots have always been the best at what they've done when growing up. So much so that they will even avoid or stop doing something that they are not very good at just because they are not very good at it. If they played rugby in the first team at school but suck at playing the guitar then their focus will drift more onto their sporting, rather their musical, endeavours. Pilots want to solve things and be impressive to people and if they can't then they quickly lose interest - this can come across as egotistical. But they are not alone with their narcissistic attributes. Who has never said 'When I lose some weight, get a new car or climb Mount Kilimanjaro people will think I'm awe

We are all blinded by success, now more than ever. Never before have we been able to see such meteoric rises of nobodies to somebodies who are able to attain significant wealth and status on the way.  Take Zoe Sugg aka Zoella. Zoella is a 25 year old YouTube vBlogger who started her channel 6 years ago and has over 7 million followers. As of 2015 her net worth is thought to stand at an incredible £3 million. Or the boy band 'One Direction', just some guys that entered a singing contest and who are now officially the richest boy band in history - each of them worth £15 million! I've flown fast jets now for 17 years but I don't consider myself a success, I mean - I'm not an astronaut, now, surely that would mean I was successful?http://www.fastjetperformance.com/podcasts/tread-carefully-on-the-road-to-success-but-make-sure-that-it-is-your-roadSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/Fast-Jet-Performance. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So, I've just swapped the cockpit of my military fast jet for a desk in an office and, WHOA... ...Am I learning about communication! Or the lack of it. I'm probably just not familiar with all of the nuances yet, I mean - I've only been there a month or so. But I've become fascinated with the way people exchange information and, as I still fly a few hours each month, I've been comparing how pilots communicate with how it's done in the office. Communication in the Cockpit. This week I had to check one of my flying instructors on his annual flying ability test. This instructor is one of my top guys and an ex-single seat ground attack pilot. His flying was excellent but there was just something he did that caught my eye.READ MORE :) Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/Fast-Jet-Performance. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So I haven't signed up to the new gym yet and I'm probably not going to start that language course I looked at but I might learn the sousaphone - except I don't think I can commit to it right now because, you know, I'm busy with other really important stuff.​Successful author, coach and motivational speaker Tony Robbins believes that people have the ability to achieve huge changes in their lives but that they are limited by the lack of belief in their own potential.He talks of a loop that he calls the 'Success Cycle' that starts with a person's potential. When a person has potential they can take action and this action will get results. Now by getting results they will develop belief in themselves - and this belief will create further potential for action.But he explains that the hardest thing about the whole cycle is getting someone to the action stage. People undervalue themselves, they don't feel that they have the potential to achieve so never take the first step of the cycle.Most people just find the ste

We’ve all done it and if you haven’t you probably know someone who has.You're having a conversation, driving home from work or watching TV when you suddenly realise that you can’t remember the last 5 minutes of what you’ve been doing.A recent survey suggests that 23% of all car accidents happen within 1 mile of the owner’s house and over 50% within 5 miles.It's fairly obvious that familiarity is causing problems for drivers and, the resulting inattention, costly insurance claims.It's no different with pilots either but the results can be a lot, lot worse.In aviation, inattention is often referred to as ‘low-arousal’ and is an issue that has caused many a pilot's demise. I was recently caught out by this and it made me realise that I needed to re-evaluate my approach to flying.I’ve been flying for 17 years and have over 2,500 hours, mainly fast jet. To an airline pilot this figure would be laughable but, as any Service pilot knows, the variation of content in military fast jet flying makes this number signific

When 25 year old Taylor Swift sold her 40 millionth album and became the youngest woman ever to be included on Forbes' '100 Most Powerful Women' list, it would be easy to think that her success could be put down to one thing.Talent. I mean, that's why she made it, right? If you'd had her talent then maybe you could've been a super-successful recording artist with millions in the bank.It's just not fair that she has all of the talent and the rest of us have none!But what if I told you that talent was pretty much irrelevant to her success?And, what if I also said that there were more important factors at play and that they are accessible to everyone?You see, most people think that they can't be successful because they lack talent. They aren't as talented a singer as one of their friends or they have a mate at work who has a talent at giving presentations and is always getting noticed by the boss. Maybe they've tried to write a small novel but it reads nothing like their favourite Stephen King book because they

Have you ever wondered why you missed that promotion at work or why another person always gets the great assignments?You work as hard as the next guy but he always seems to get the breaks!Maybe you have some great ideas and, if only someone would listen to you, your workplace could be awesome and so much more productive.What if I said that I had an answer for you...And it’s been around forever.You see, most of the emails I receive from my readers are not about the articles I've written or pictures I post. No, the majority of people write to me for career guidance or to ask my advice on a life or business decision they're making.If I was to offer one piece of advice to you and all of these individuals, it would be this.Get a mentor. http://www.fastjetperformance.com/podcasts/are-you-really-going-to-make-it-on-your-own Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/Fast-Jet-Performance. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What's wrong with the youth of today? Recently we had some young employees doing a project for our civilian partners and when they had finished, and the contract had been signed, they all left the company even rejecting an increased salary offer to stay! They went and found work with another company having only worked for our partners for 18 months. Speed and agility are key in today’s fast moving workplace and this was what these young employees knew. They were not prepared to risk leaving their future employment chances to someone else and were aggressive in their planning.  I had to admire them - they knew the project they had done would look good on their CVs and now they were off to get more experience from somewhere else.'There is no such thing as security. You have to be aware of your options and not be afraid of change or failure. In fact, change is vital.’ – Captain Richard Champion de Crespigny, QF32 It is exactly the same in air combat - at the merge, he who manoeuvres first dictates the fight.

You've heard of the saying 'If you want something done, give it to a busy person' but often it seemed that the more I did, the less I actually got done. My three year tour as a Senior Executive on, what was arguably at the time, the busiest fast-jet squadron in the RAF, was a brutal and demanding tour with high workload and long days.  In effect we were building a brand new squadron with a brand new aircraft. The infrastructure was also new as were the civilian partnerships that we had entered. I pretty much worked myself into the ground but towards the end, ironically after I'd taken my option to leave the Service, I managed to seek out some working practises that helped to lower my stress levels and increase my productivity.So, 5 quick tips for a more productive and less stressed you! 1.         Stop procrastinating.  As I found out, when you have so much work to do it can be hard to know where to start. Just as you're getting on top of one thing another task comes in! In 'The Pomodoro Technique', author Fr

It's a familiar story to all of us. We're struggling with a heavy workload when along comes the boss and hands us yet another task - we roll our eyes and accept it. We might even rebel a little and let our boss know how busy we are and we might even believe him when he says that he 'Understands' and continues with 'don't rush it - Friday will do!'If your workplace is anything like mine, then you are probably having to ‘do more with less’. Our bosses are output driven, they have to be, and they will attempt to maximise the output whilst minimising the costs. Employees' salaries are normally the largest cost for any business which is why, when times are hard, jobs are the first thing to go. Recently, when UK airline Monarch transitioned from being a traditional charter carrier to a low-cost airline, they cut 30% of their staff and reduced the pay of those who remained. Leaning processes are a key management tool, more so in hard times it might seem, and are deemed essential for a company to remain competitive.

In early 2012, I was flying with a good friend of mine when I made a mistake that very almost killed us both. I was an accomplished jet pilot, as was my buddy, but something happened that was totally unexpected and almost resulted in the loss of, not one, but two of the RAF's very new and expensive aircraft and four highly experienced pilots.We were practising for a display that would be conducted in front of the Queen for her Diamond Jubilee Flypast. We were being led by an experienced display flight leader who had recently arrived at RAF Valley and was an ex-Red Arrow. His task - getting 27 Hawk pilots from the RAF and the RN, across four squadrons, to perform as a huge formation that would form the letters 'EIIR'. The practises were hard and the learning new. It was obvious that in order to be successful in front of the Queen, we were all going to have to embrace failure as a learning tool and many times over.It was going to be hard work and in essence, to create success in front of the Queen, this work-up

Of my friends and colleagues that have been killed in military aircraft they have all had one thing in common - they were all in control of the aircraft when they died. Low-level flying is an unforgiving business and it doesn't take much to get it wrong. This is why we have currencies, proficiencies and rules, to make sure that we are safe to operate when close to the ground.You see, humans are exceptionally poor at multi-tasking and pilots are no different. Everybody thinks that pilots must be good at it but nothing could be further from the truth. Pilots don't multi-task - they just prioritise a task list exceptionally quickly. When a pilot is flying they try to have as clear a mind as possible, I liken it to a blank piece of paper or a whiteboard on an office wall. When a task comes in, such as a radio call, radar contact or something that requires an unplanned action from the pilot, it needs to be dealt with as efficiently as possible. It's like the task is automatically written onto the whiteboard but on

If I gave you some darts and stood you in front of a dartboard for a year, could you become the next Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor with just practise or would you need the help of someone who had some knowledge of darts? This is exactly what bored office worker Justin Irwin did in 2008. He decided that he wanted to excel at a sport but he had a problem; he was 35 and past his sporting prime.So he picked darts. He quit his £50,000 job to practise full time and prepare himself for a life of darting glory - what he found out, though, might surprise you. But before we talk about Justin's experience, let’s take the question further.  What if you could only have one of those options for a whole year - practise OR knowledge? You have a choice and in a year's time you will be entered into the prestigious Lakeside World Darts Championships in Surrey. Now, you could either stand in front of the dartboard for a year and practise for 8 hours a day but with no help whatsoever OR never throw a dart for the whole year but have ev

If you are reading this then you are most likely to be a high-achiever or on the road to becoming one. You see, only 10% of people read or listen to material with the sole intent of self-improvement. You probably read productivity blogs, business magazines or listen to industry leaders, in your particular employment sector, talking about the future so that you can stay one step ahead of your competition. Whatever you are doing, you are doing it because you want to be more informed and, in doing so, become more productive. As you’ve most probably noticed, the top high-achievers seem to be calm, confident and, above all, incredibly productive. The amount they write, talk and accomplish is phenomenal. They seem to be able to do it all - they have truly mastered the art of multitasking. How can you be as awesome at multitasking as them, for surely here lies the holy grail of productivity? Or does it? Formula 1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, does not multitask.At this year’s Malaysian Grand Prix, on Lap 41, Lewis

Management over Leadership - An Acceptable Inevitability or Purposeful Neglect? When writing I often find it all too easy to end up widely off message narrating a vitriolic polemic about some imagined injustice in the world - this post was no different. I, like so many in the military, have strong views on leadership and we don't tolerate those who shirk that responsibility lightly. But that got me thinking - why do we place such importance on leadership; maybe the problems lies with an individual's expectation of leadership where management might have been more appropriate? Command is the whole complex business and a position enshrined in law;leadership is about people and turbulence; management is about stuff andnumbers’. - Watters & Horton, cited in Leadership in Defence So if leadership is about people and turbulence, and management is about stuff and numbers, leadership just sounds so much more interesting, doesn't it? As a member of the Chartered Management Institute (you join these things when on r

I've had a guy in his late teens write in to ask a few questions so I thought I'd share them as it might help others who are looking at a potential career in the military. This is a military centric post so skip this one if you are in the business world but there might be one or two things that could help you at job interviews or with your working relationships. The guy who wrote in was looking to become a more well-rounded candidate for when he attends the Officer Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC) at RAF Cranwell later in the year.During our conversation I had to make it clear that it has been many years since I attended OASC and even when I spoke to our youngest students it was also clear that it had been a few years since they had attended too. The RAF Recruitment Offices should be able to provide you with the latest recruitment information although I have heard that they are not always the best places to find out what serving on an RAF flying squadron is actually like. This is because few pilots can be spar

The 90% solution, some guy called 'Pareto' and why the best air combat pilots are often seen as the laziest.It became apparent to me during my last tour that a lot of the effort that I put into my work was inefficient. I remember speaking to a senior officer whilst I was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan with the US Army and she said - 'you have to just get the work out of the door as complete as you can - I aim for the 90% solution'. In the military we have to be as efficient as possible because we work with taxpayer's money and there is a lot of work to be done. The workload on some postings can be quite extreme and I have had tours that are no exception; I have worked genuine 12 to 16 hour days in my career for 5 days a week (or 7 days a week on ops, which, of course, is entirely to be expected). Now, I get that people in civilian life also work long hours (and rightly so if combined with the appropriate remuneration) but when you have long hours mixed in with flying a £20 million aircraft twice a day - that'

So, it's fair to say that the majority of the population would probably view fast jet pilots as an arrogant bunch of people who display significant narcissistic attributes. Any high-achiever whether a race car driver, wealthy stockbroker or famous musician/actor would also most probably be thought of as cocky and arrogant but this is often not the case. It has been said that the Millennials, or Generation Y (those born in the 1990s), are the most 'self-satisfied' and entitled generation yet and they are frequently dismissed as lazy by the baby-boomer generation (those born between 1946-1964). In the UK we are currently seeing a shift from hereditary wealth to a meritocracy where hard work and ideas are the order of the day - Generation Y are at the forefront of this change.Generation Y are confident, connected and open to changeGeneration Y are confident, connected and open to change and this can be threatening to other generations who might feel a bit redundant or can't work 'them interwebs'. The baby-boomer

I've recently been away from work for a couple of weeks having to take some remaining leave before the deadline of 31 March when all leave resets. I've done a few things; I went on a long hike with the wife, went to see some family - that sort of thing. But when you are away from the cockpit for any period of time you have to 'come down' from the level that you have been operating at. Conversely, before you go back to work you need to re-energise yourself to get back up to speed. This is the same with any job; the more complicated the profession the harder it is to 'switch off' when on holiday. Some people take a few days to fully relax and some need longer. One of my pilots will only take his holidays over two weeks as he says that he can't fully 'switch off' from work with only one. When I was a student pilot I would sometimes not be able to 'switch off' at all or would find that I could be quite relaxed by the Tuesday of my holiday but by the Thursday I was starting to think about the cockpit again and wou