Just Three Degrees!

“My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are cheap; you make them because they're right.”

~ Graeme Edwards

Korean Air Flight 007 was a Korean Air civilian airliner shot down with all on board by Soviet jet interceptors on September 1, 1983 a few miles over international waters. KAL 007 was shot just west of Sakhalin island which had been claimed as Soviet territory. KAL 007 carried 269 passengers and crew, including a U.S. congressman, and claims persist that the Soviets captured some survivors. The Soviet Union said it did not know the aircraft was civilian, and suggested it had entered Soviet airspace as a deliberate provocation to test their response capabilities.

As we now know, KAL 007 had erroneously deviated just three degrees off course and anded up a long way off course (see illustration.) At first, 3 degrees is barely noticable, but the difference becomes exponential as time goes by. As Agnes DeMille corrctly observed, “No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.” You don’t become obese when you guzzle your first tub of ice cream. You don’t get rich the day you start your own business. But that first decision and the direction you chose will have very definite consequences.

Here’s the good news: We can change direction any time. You can correct your course, IF you recognize that you’re off course! And you can consistently make new choices, 3 degrees at a time, which can fast track your success. Transcripts recovered from the Korean airliner's cockpit voice recorder indicate that the crew were unaware that they were off course and violating Soviet airspace. We have to recognize and understand three things: One, we’re off target; if we keep going in the same direction, a crash is imminent. Two, we CAN take responsibility and change direction. And Three, we have to take decisive, consitent, definite action – NOW. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “One thing is sure. We have to do something. We have to do the best we know how at the moment... if it doesn't turn out right, we can modify it as we go along.”

And here’s an important note: The crew of KAL 007 did not notice this error or undertake the correct INS checks to discover it later due to a "lack of situational awareness and flight deck coordination". We need to monitor our business and personal progress through life on a very regular basis. I just completed a program with the best business training I have ever been exposed to. It has a lot to do with knowing exactly what is going on in your business and how to take control and predict the future of your business. If you would like to experience a complimentary introduction to this training, e mail me or call me at 1.866.746.0631 (PST) and I’ll be glad to arrange it for you.

“We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

Robin J. Elliott robin@dollarmakers.com Call Toll Free1.866.746.0631 Pacific Time
Robin J. Elliott has been officially included in the International Who's Who of Entrepreneurs in 2002 and has been nominated as a candidate for inclusion in the 2004-2005 edition of the International Who's Who of Professionals.