Legend has it that a great commander once burned the ships of his fleet to ensure they had no choice but to fight an insurmountable foe.

While they no-doubt felt plenty of fear, they had no choice but to face it.

A key factor in completing your aircraft material projects on time is ditching an irrational fear of asking for help.

John Lennon once said,

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life.”

Perhaps that’s the case here.

Perhaps you are letting this fear stand in your way of aircraft maintenance material success.

Of your ability to receive better maintenance material support, reduce material costs, and experience less stress.

And, dare I say, of realizing potential procurement greatness.

Currently, one global study estimates that

“demand for supply chain professionals exceeds supply by a ratio of six to one.”

Combine this with the fact that for every scheduled heavy-check hour, there is another unplanned labor hour due to findings, engineering, waiting for parts, reviewing manuals and other inefficiencies.

I think buying into this fear is partially to blame, along with traditions that may have served you well earlier, yet no longer do and well-intended teachers who are not up on the latest research — sources that often support this myth and fan the flames of misinformation.

This has a hefty price tag: it can harm you by not delivering results for your operation.

I remember when I first paid that price. I first noticed it when I struggled to keep up with everything.

It hurt my progress considerably by not completing everything. Fortunately, I overcame it by focusing on the things that mattered the most. You can, too!

I spent the past 15 years working on a fearless approach to aircraft maintenance material.

They were struggling to save time and money sourcing, processing and following up on maintenance material needs, and more often than not, this fear is one of the reasons they struggled.

Now, it’s true: what’s right for me and other successful supply chain professionals may not be right for you.

However, if you’ve bought into the fear of asking for help, you may want to consider rethinking things.

Hope this helps!

Nate Anglin