My wife mocks me for watching SWAT. Sadly with some justification. It is kind of silly. The main character is supposed to be a heart-throb but – I dunno – I don’t quite see it.
If you’ve not seen it, it’s a police procedural set in the SWAT team of the LAPD. In each episode there’s some disaster or crime that’s being committed that needs the efforts of our heros to resolve. Standard stuff.
But here’s the thing. Some of my favourite episodes don’t contain heroics, or, at least, it’s not the key element of the story.
In the fifth series, there’s an episode where there’s a plane hijacking. One of the lead character is on the plane, unable to communicate with the others, and the other characters want to save the hostages and their colleague.
Most of the episode is spent not on the plane. Not directly trying to save the hostages. Instead, they work in a simulator, trying again and again, to find a way to meet their objectives. When something doesn’t work, or when the situation changes, they change the plan and try again.
Tempers flare, they get frustrated and disheartened, but they all communicate and they all listen.
What saves the day – and, of course, they do – is not bravery and heroism as much as tirelessly practicing. They do the homework.
In each episode, they arrive at an unknown situation. They go in with a plan, they adjust the plan as the situation evolves and they have standard, clear communication.
Naturally, there is also heroism and battles and witty one-liners. It is a TV show, after all.
On a website mostly dedicated to writing about my experience in the software industry, you might be expecting me to note the parallels with successful teams. You’d be right. Most of us don’t deal with life and death situations. However, many, if not most, issues that we come across are caused by poor communication or forging ahead without thought or a plan. There is a lot we can learn from a fictional SWAT team.