The following is the text of a speech delivered in 1982 by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover – the father of the Nuclear Navy – at Columbia University. Rickover’s accomplishments as the head of the Nuclear Navy are legendary. From developing the first power-producing submarine-based nuclear reactor from scratch to operations in just three years to […]
Read MoreRickover was famous for developing and running the Nuclear Navy. But he was also famous for being difficult to get along with. Watch this video and see what you think… Admiral Rickover. /. 60 Minutes from Paul and Holly on Vimeo.
Read MoreHis article in Metals Engineering Quarterly starts with … “Progress — like freedom — is desired by nearly all men, but not all understand that both come at a cost. Whenever society advances — be it in culture and education or science and technology — there is a rise in the requirements man must meet […]
Read MoreTry to build a nuclear power plant in someone’s back yard, and you’ll witness how communities come together to fight something they perceive as extremely dangerous. And yet, at the submarine base in Groton, CT, there may be as many as 18 nuclear reactors within a quarter mile of each other, in various stages of […]
Read MoreWhat Does it Take to Achieve Championship Performance? You aren’t born to be a champion (or exhibit championship performance). Of course, you do have to have a certain aptitude and learn the basics – what it takes to play and win. But more is required. Consider these four insights… First – Picture Where You Want […]
Read MoreA Story About Management Learning Long ago, my boss was tasked with reviewing the Challenger space shuttle accident for lessons learned for a major chemical company. I assisted him, and he concluded that all the same management system causes were present at our company. He had a dilemma. How should he present this to senior […]
Read More“Expert” Shares About Cross-Industry Networking Here is what an improvement “expert” said in a medical industry discussion forum… I, too, have worked in the nuclear power industry. Nuclear power conference organizers three years ago had me speak about hospital safety. I imagined myself teaching these socially-challenged engineers a thing or two and prepared my best […]
Read MoreRemembering and Exploring the Root Causes of the SL-1 Accident Sixty-three years ago, the SL-1 accident destroyed the Army’s only nuclear reactor. The workers were involved in a seemingly routine procedure. But what happened next was anything but routine. And on that night, January 3, 1961, “routine” actions led to the worst nuclear accident up […]
Read MoreWhat is Normalization of Deviation and How Can You Prevent It? Mark Paradies and Benna Hughes discuss: Watch the video and learn… Learn from Past Videos We are bringing back some of our classic TapRooT® TV videos from the past two, three, or four years that you might have missed or might be applicable today […]
Read MoreWhat is a Non-Conservative Decision? Conservative Decision-Making (as opposed to non-conservative decision-making) was probably best defined in the Nuclear Navy. Admiral Rickover called it “Facing the Facts.” He said that Facing the Facts (Conservative Decision-Making) was: “To resist the human inclination to hope that things will work out, despite evidence or suspicions to the contrary.” […]
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