Uri Bar-Lev

Have you ever been at a job where you were reprimanded for not following the process, even when you achieved positive results? Of course, you have!

On September 6, 1970, El Al pilot Uri Bar-Lev noticed four suspicious people trying to board his airplane. He kicked two of them off, but, unfortunately, not all four. The remaining two turned out to be hijackers. So Bar-Lev sent his plane into a tailspin, which did not affect his passengers (always buckle your seat belts!), but did dislodge the attackers. One was shot by an air marshal, the other passed out. To this day, Bar-Lev remains the only pilot to stop a hijacking.

So what did the Israeli authorities do when Bar-Lev got home? They reprimanded him! He wasn't supposed to have asked the marshal to sit with him in the cockpit! (The same marshal who ended up killing the hijacker.) He wasn't supposed to land the airplane in London, but go directly to Tel Aviv! (Bar-Lev did so to get medical help for the flight attendant who was shot.) You have to follow the process, Uri!

El Al was about to fire Bar-Lev, but Golda Meir intervened, and no harm was done... except for the extra paperwork that the airline bureaucrat must have had to fill!

Oh, and if you have never experienced this phenomenon at your job, please do let us know what your profession is. We might just consider a career change.