In the embedded video, based on the book Switch by Chip and Dan Heath, I talk about three examples of the sterile cockpit rule and how they demonstrate that the right behaviors don’t happen on their own and what you can do about it.
The sterile cockpit concept has uses outside of air travel where it increased safety by ensuring pilots concentrated exclusively on flying the plane during the most critical parts of the flight, takeoffs and landings. The same concept of reducing distractions improved error rates for nurses administering medications at Kaiser South San Francisco. In software development, the notion of “quiet hours” served as a form of sterile cockpit that allowed software developers to concentrate in distracting environments.
In all these cases, the common thread is that right behaviors don’t happen on their own. Leaders need to shape the path to make right behaviors emerge.
I would love to hear what you thought of the video, so feel free to comment below, on The K Guy Twitter, or on The K Guy Facebook fan page.