Responsibility is yours for the taking

In our productive leadership workshops, one of the issues we address is the importance of taking charge. In this training segment there is a set of quotes from an Ann Landers column about the things people have told their auto insurance company after an accident.

Some of the funniest quotes are:

"The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I caught up with him." I have a vision of a squirrel man in the middle of the road caught in the indecision.
"The telephone pole was approaching quickly, I was trying to strip myself when it hit my forehead."
My personal favorite: "I walked away from the side of the road, I looked at my mother-in-law and headed to the embankment".

Through all these quotes, there is a common thread: the person making the statement does everything possible to divert responsibility. Not taking control is a defense mechanism to avoid the consequences of bad decisions. These drivers made bad decisions because they were not paying attention to the reality of their situation.

In all three previous citations, the drivers had no control of their vehicles, and there were consequences. To take charge, you must first recognize that you are responsible for putting yourself in a given situation.

A personal example of a vehicle theme: several years ago, I had a meeting in a downtown office building. There was parking within walking distance of the office building. Worried about the next meeting, I went into the parking lot and parked the rental car near the corner at the end of the parking garage closest to the building where I was going. I came to my appointment with a lot of time and I had a productive meeting. Returning to the garage, I was surprised by an almost flat strip of guano bird in a 4-inch strip across the width of the car's roof.

When I got to the place, I was thinking about the next meeting. I did not think anyone else was parked in that area, nor did I notice the pigeons gathered in a beam above my car. Nor did I see the pattern of bird guano on the floor of the garage. The signals were all around me, but I did not notice them, so I did not proactively avoid the predictable bombardment. I have never been happier than driving a rental car. I was responsible - not the pigeons - for the "drawings" on the hood of the car. Nor was it the fault of the garage operator. He had not been proactive.

Reality exists, with predictable results. Sometimes reality has a limited scope and minor consequences. Making a rental car with a crude racecourse is a minor consequence for me, although this could be more important for the car wash manager. At other times, the scope is very large, with important consequences. The squirrel man who was probably crushed would agree that he had a significant consequence. But the squirrel man might have been more aware of his reality (the car is approaching). Reality does not worry if we notice it before the outcome happens.

Being attentive and looking for realities allows us to avoid the consequences if we are proactive. We can make choices, like not parking under a well-fed flock of doves. What we teach in workshops is that taking care of them means increasing their responsiveness. You accept responsibility by choosing:

Your thoughts, feelings and actions.
If it is and how you make changes in your reality or circumstances.
Accept what you can not change, but act to minimize the consequences.

You can choose how to respond to events in your life only if you accept the reality of the situation. Accountability means that we choose how to respond. The decisions we make are shaped by logic, how consequences can affect us, and how our behaviors are programmed.

Remember that if you do not get involved, you will feel like a victim of your situation. If you believe you are a victim of circumstances, you will think and act as a victim. If you act as a victim, you will model these behaviors for your team members, who are more likely to feel victimized.

SMRP Certification is a Must for the Community

I am proud to be a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional (CMRP). The certification is offered by the certifying organization of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRPCO), which is a subsidiary of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP).

                                          

                                            
SMRP is committed to practitioners in the field of equipment maintenance and reliability. It was originally chartered in 1992 and incorporated in Illinois in 1993 as a not-for-profit corporation. SMRP was formed to facilitate the exchange of information; support maintenance and reliability as an integral part of business management; present a collective voice on maintenance and reliability issues and advance innovative maintenance and reliability practices; and promote and support maintenance and reliability education, which includes certification.

Efforts to begin a certification program began in 1997. In 1998, a team of volunteers gathered to begin scoping the objectives, activities and deliverables of the certification process, which led to the development of a “body of capabilities for a high-performing maintenance and reliability leader.” This body of capabilities was validated by nearly 400 maintenance and reliability professionals who participated in a Web-based survey. Encouraged by the feedback from participants, the committee elected to proceed with the development of the CMRP designation. After a pilot examination at the 2000 SMRP Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, and some further beta testing, the first official examination was administered to 59 maintenance and reliability professionals at the 2001 SMRP Annual Conference. I was among those test takers, and am pleased to report that I passed.

So what does the CMRP designation have to do with machinery lubrication? A great deal, really. The condensed subject matter outline for the CMRP includes business and management, manufacturing process reliability, equipment reliability, people and work management. We lubrication professionals modify or maintain lubrication practices for the purpose of optimizing or managing equipment and process reliability with the ultimate goal of maximizing profit or in some other way enhancing the organization’s likelihood of achieving its mission. We must manage work processes and people to achieve our goals for machinery lubrication.

The phrase “think globally, act locally,” certainly applies here.1 Any machinery lubrication professional who is involved with equipment maintenance and reliability (which is most of us) should consider earning the CMRP designation. Only when we truly understand equipment maintenance and reliability and its relationship to the overall mission of the organization can we effectively develop and implement an optimized lubrication and oil analysis strategy. The CMRP confirms that you have the skills and knowledge to bridge the gap between technical lubrication skills and strategic maintenance and reliability know-how.

No formal education or experience is required to attempt the CMRP examination. SMPRCO does say, however, that the “candidate should have significant applied experience and education in maintenance and reliability technical fundamentals.” It further says that “work management and reliability engineering skills are key areas.” A “capabilities inventory outline” is available on SMRP’s Web site. The closed-book examination is 110 multiple-choice questions (subject to change) for which the candidate is allowed two hours to complete.

SMRP’s Web site2 is packed with useful information, including a Web-based audio/ visual tutorial on the capabilities of a CMRP, several free documents in pdf format, and the Reference Guide for the Certification in Maintenance Management, which was developed to assist people preparing for the CMRP examination. There is also information about becoming a sustaining member of SMRPCO to show your commitment to excellence in maintenance and reliability. Noria Corporation, the publisher of Machinery Lubrication magazine, is proud to be a sustaining member of SMRPCO, and we encourage you to join us in our support of the effort.

Membership in SMRP is not required to sit for the CMRP examination. However, if you are not already a member of SMRP, you should become one. It is a great organization. The SMRP annual conference, usually held in the fall, is a great place to learn and network. I hope to see you at the conference in Indianapolis, IN, November 2-5, 2003.

You can access more information about SMRP, SMRPCO and the CMRP designation at the SMRP Web site: www.dumps4download.com/cmrp-dumps.html