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Management Commitment and Leadership 47

Pick the future as against the past;
Focus on opportunity rather than on the problem;
Choose your own direction—rather than climb on the bandwagon;
and
Aim high, aim for something that will make a difference, rather than
for something that is “safe” and easy to do.

In any organization there are always more opportunities deserving at-
tention than capable people to address them. In determining which oppor-
tunities to seize, managers must be biased toward true organizational
priorities rather than reacting to pressures of the day. Work on daily pres-
sure points is usually targeted at resolving or explaining yesterday’s prob-
lems. Management leadership and commitment in support of critical
organizational objectives, including the prevention of serious incidents, is
the key to shaping a better tomorrow.

References

1. S. Komarow, “Academy Tries to Restore a Sense of Honor,” USA Today, 23
May 1996.
2. P. F. Drucker, The New Realities (New York: Harper & Row, 1989), 109.
3. M. Imai, Kaizen—The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success (New York:
Random House, 1986), 144–145.
4. J. C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 1998), 1–10.
5. J. Reason, Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents (Aldershot,
Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing, 1997) 37.
6. B. F. Olson and J. L. de la Fuente, L.P-Gas Disaster November 1984—Mexico
City (Presented at GPA Convention, San Antonio, Texas, 10–12 March 1986).
7. J. A. Byrne, “Business Fads: What’s In—And Out,” Business Week, 20 January
1986, 53.
8. “Domino’s Dropping Delivery Guarantee,” Dallas Morning News, 22
December 1993, 1A, 17A.
9. A. Shepard and D. Slayton, Moonshot—The Inside Story of America’s Race to
the Moon (Atlanta: Turner Publishing, 1994), 192–221.
10. P. F. Drucker, The Effective Executive (New York: Harper & Row, 1985), 111.