He was a young engineer at NASA who was on duty at Huston’s Mission Control for more than 20 space missions. His job was quality control, and he always stayed on his assignment and post. On top of that, he is one of the most accomplished Amateur Radio (HAM) operators to be found anywhere. He was truly a technical/systems-driven person ahead of his time in many ways.
I met him in the early eighties while heading to the East Coast for a week of workshops. I was studying my file of notes about power and leadership and each specific office I would visit that week. A guy next to me on the plane moved as close to me as he could and began reading my notes with me. In time he had to question what he was reading and me, the guy who made up that body of notes. Since he asked about me and my work, I asked him about his work.
It was a serendipitous moment, as are most events that take us in an entirely unexpected direction. His intrusion into my space led to our working together and becoming close friends. He has never stopped pushing the envelope of quality systems in the workplace and classrooms. His work brought efficiency to the workplace; my work brought better interpersonal relations. When we work together, all the bases are covered.
The problems he faced and dealt with, even to this day, almost always have to do with implementation. Any system requires leadership to make that happen. It was clear to both of us in our work that bringing innovative dialogue, methods, and systems into any organization demanded that leadership buy into any and all systems changes in addition to relating to their key people.
He, I, different—Complementary are we—Teamwork is our way
Sy
