Rock-tober 31, 2022

One of the mandatory training sessions we have at my job involves being actively inclusive of dissenting views. Several studies were cited where working groups with homogeneous backgrounds, outlooks, and frames of reference were outperformed by those with more diverse memberships. It was found in diverse groups that decisions were made more quickly and with more clarity. Additionally, difficult problems were overcome with unique out-of-the-box thinking due mainly to participants tackling the problem with a different mindset.

This has ramifications beyond staff checking the box for mandatory staff training.

During World War II, fighter planes returning from combat patrols displayed predictable patterns of bullet holes. Warfighters made the logical leap to reinforce these sections with armor to increase the aircraft's survivability. However, it was an outsider, a mathematician, who postulated that the reason certain areas were not covered in bullet holes was that planes taking damage to those critical areas did not return. This dissenting opinion led to the reinforcement of those specific areas of returning aircraft that had no battle damage. Online sources say this paradigm carried over to combat aircraft that saw service in Korea.

Most of my Gen-X cohort would have been in school when the Challenger shuttle disaster unfolded. The root cause for the mid-flight explosion was attributed to O-ring failure. This failure, in turn,  stemmed from the freezing cold conditions the morning of the launch. Those temperatures severely impacted the elasticity of the O-rings, prohibiting them from making a proper seal. As a result, flames blew past the O-rings and eventually ignited the external fuel tank.

For months prior to the launch, a core of engineers led by Roger Boisjoly was aware of the O-ring vulnerability and flooded management with memos detailing this weakness. On the morning of the launch, a series of go/no-go flight meetings took place, and based on data from Boisjoly's team, the launch was initially scrubbed. However, senior NASA officials questioned this decision and in a subsequent meeting, Boisjoly and his team were purposely excluded. As a result, the launch continued and ended in the first in-flight deaths of US astronauts.

Collaborating with those of dissenting views isn't always easy. Sometimes it's excruciatingly hard. But it has to be done, and failure to do so can have dire consequences. A good first step is finding common ground. From yesterday's post, it can likely be gleaned that I doubt I'll ever agree that taking down the live oak at the end of Island View was a good idea. However, I'll bet 2 sons could come together and regale each other with great stories of their dads.

Rock-tober out.

"Brickyard Road" - Johnny Van Zant