Thanksgiving has come and gone. The madness of Black Friday has passed. It’s time to get back to work.
Yesterday, millions of people were surfing the internet taking advantage of online deals on a day that has come to be known as Cyber Monday. TheHill.com reports that shoppers spent a record-breaking $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday this year.
Most of the news we see on TV or the internet tends to be negative. It's nice to come across a feel-good story every now and again.
Such is the case with Mesa, AZ-based non-profit Grounded No More. Since 2016, Grounded No More, Inc. has been providing free flights for military veterans. Tony Anger, the company's owner and founder noticed earlier this year that it was approaching its 500th flight. He wanted to do something special to honor that impressive milestone.
Growing up, many of us were taught that there were two things you just didn't talk about in public settings — politics and religion. It made sense. After all, both of those subjects are deeply personal. Discussing either one in public settings would inevitably end up with someone getting upset.
It seems like COVID needs to be added to that list.
From the start, COVID was a polarizing issue. That polarization has exponentially increased as we have lived more than two years dealing with its effects.
Today is the last day of NBAA-BACE 2022. I was looking forward to attending NBAA-BACE this year. There were plenty of exciting seminars and presentations lined up, and it's always good to learn about all the new products and services available to the business aviation industry. I also enjoy networking with D.O.M. magazine readers and advertisers.
The 2023 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) is just around the corner. It will be taking place October 17-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
In my opinion, NBAA-BACE is the second-best opportunity for maintenance managers and aviation maintenance professionals to gain the knowledge necessary for career advancement. (The best conference is NBAA’s Maintenance Conference, which offers three days of maintenance- and management-focused sessions!)
The long and illustrious history of the aviation industry has been fraught with many trials and tribulations over the years that have tested businesses to their limits and served as a catalyst for change. Here, component supply specialist Artemis Aerospace looks at the events that had a significant impact on the sector and how they have changed aviation forever.
The world’s most significant air crash
It still seems to be a job-seekers market out there. There are more open aircraft maintenance jobs out there than people to fill them. This includes leadership/supervisory positions.
If you are in a director of maintenance or other leadership position, how you resign can affect your team as well as your future job opportunities. After all, aviation is a small world — you never want to burn a bridge!
I found a good article by David Burkus that discusses seven steps for how to resign from a leadership position. They basically are:
For those that may not know, QWERTY is a keyboard layout. Its name comes from the order of the top left letter row of the keyboard — Q-W-E-R-T-Y. This layout was created by Christopher Latham Sholes, a newspaper editor and printer from Kenosha, WI.
I took typing classes in high school. My guidance counselor recommended it. Although I didn't realize it at the time, it would come in very handy throughout my career.
Last week was chaotic. Last Wednesday, we closed on our new construction house. We had movers coming over on Saturday to move the big stuff for us from our rental house to our new house. Let's just say the days of asking my buddies to help me move and "paying" with pizza and beer are long over. We have a lot more stuff than back in the old days, and my friends are a lot older — just like me.
When I stumbled across a post on Root Inc. (www.rootinc.com) titled, "Leadership Lessons From the Flea Circus," I was intrigued and wanted to learn more.
I have been to many flea markets. I know for a fact that you don't buy fleas at a flea market.
But I never knew about the history of flea circuses. What constituted a flea circus? What was the difference between a regular circus and a flea circus?
Directors of maintenance and supervisors must act on job-related decisions every day. It’s part of our job. If you are the person who must make a specific decision, delaying it hinders your company’s smooth operation, affects customer service and leads to poor employee morale.
A recent personal experience is a good example of this.
Stress is one of the Dirty Dozen human factors. D.O.M. contributing writer Gordon Dupont discussed stress in one of his articles for us. You can learn about stress and how it affects us by reading Dupont’s article here: https://www.system-safety.com/articles/DOM/21%20Stress.pdf.
Stress is a normal part of life. As Dupont says in his article, “…the only time we have no stress is when we are dead…”
I'm writing this blog while on a 10-day vacation in Alabama. Last Saturday, my wife's side of the family had their annual family reunion. This Saturday, our niece will be getting married. We packed up the car last Thursday and made the 900 mile drive from Wisconsin to Alabama with our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter and our dog.
The D.O.M. team is in San Antonio for the NBAA Maintenance Conference (NBAA MC). If you are at the show, stop by booth 421 and say hi.
I always enjoy the NBAA MC. It's great catching up with all the maintenance managers I've met over the years and meeting new maintenance management professionals as well. The sessions are always educational — you never know what you will learn.
Effective communication is important in the workplace. It is especially important for those who have moved from being a mechanic to a supervisor or DOM.
I wanted to share some tips on better communication in this blog. I started by searching for “effective communication tips” on Google. One of the top results of the search was an article “Effective Communication: 6 Ways to Improve Communication Skills” on MasterClass.com.
D.O.M. magazine is the premier magazine for aviation maintenance management professionals. Its management-focused editorial provides information maintenance managers need and want including business best practices, professional development, regulatory, quality management, legal issues and more. The digital version of D.O.M. magazine is available for free on all devices (iOS, Android, and Amazon Kindle).
Joe Escobar (jescobar@dommagazine.com)
Editorial Director
920-747-0195
Greg Napert (gnapert@dommagazine.com)
Publisher, Sales & Marketing
608-436-3376
Bob Graf (bgraf@dommagazine.com)
Director of Business, Sales & Marketing
608-774-4901