12 Seconds Changed Everything
Sometimes, all it takes is 12 seconds to change the entire trajectory of your life. A brief moment—hardly long enough to check your watch—can become the dividing line between life and death, confidence and doubt, routine and revelation. For me, those 12 seconds didn’t just redefine my career as a Marine Corps pilot. They sparked a lifelong mission to help others avoid the mistakes that cost lives and to build teams that thrive under pressure.
This is more than a story about a tragedy. It’s a wake-up call. And it’s the foundation of a transformational program on Time Critical Decision Making—one rooted in experience, forged in real-world consequence, and built for everyday professionals who must make decisions under stress, ambiguity, and time pressure.
The Night That Changed My Life
In 2001, during a routine nighttime training mission off the coast of Marine Corps Air Station New River, NC, I was the lead pilot of a two-ship CH-46E helicopter formation. The conditions were normal. The mission was standard. But what happened next would become anything but routine.
Twelve seconds of misjudgment in the trailing aircraft resulted in a catastrophic water impact. Three Marines died—one of whom was a close friend and my combat air crewman. I’ll never forget the gut-wrenching moment when the comms went silent and the sky was lit by the flashing beacons of a tragedy that could have been avoided.
The aftermath was filled with grief, investigation, and reflection. But what shook me to the core was learning that a nearly identical mishap had occurred years earlier in another training scenario. The lessons from that event weren’t passed down. The institutional knowledge died with the incident. And because of that gap in learning, history repeated itself—this time on my watch.
Time Critical Decision Making
Turning Experience Into Lifesaving Frameworks
That night became the defining catalyst behind Time Critical Decision Making (TCDM)—a program designed to transfer knowledge before it's too late, reduce human error, and equip teams and individuals to perform under pressure.
In aviation, business, healthcare, and life, the moments that matter most rarely announce themselves. They just… show up. TCDM prepares you for those moments with a combination of mindset, frameworks, and scenario-based training that are both practical and profound.
Key Lessons You’ll Learn
Each module of the course reflects real-world lessons—expanded below from simple bullet points to transformational insights:
Individual and Team Decision Making Skills
You’ll learn how to recognize the signs of impending failure, assess risk in high-stress situations, and respond with confidence. We break down the psychology of decision making under time constraints and equip you with strategies that prevent hesitation, analysis paralysis, and breakdowns in authority or initiative.
How to Reduce Human Error
Human error is inevitable—but predictable and preventable. You’ll be introduced to models like the Swiss Cheese Model, root cause analysis, and lessons from aviation safety culture. More importantly, you'll understand how to design systems, habits, and team dynamics that mitigate the margin for error.
Communication and Resolution Strategies
In a crisis, communication is everything. But under stress, even high-performing teams struggle to speak up or interpret key information. You'll practice clear, closed-loop communication, escalation protocols, and resolution tactics that ensure clarity, even when emotions are high and seconds matter.
Scenario-Based Training Concepts
Real transformation comes from experience, not theory. That’s why we use immersive scenarios that simulate high-pressure moments. These aren’t just case studies—they’re training grounds where you and your team will walk through actual decision paths, learn from outcomes, and refine your response in real time.
Expert Environments for Shared Learning
Every session becomes an “expert environment” where your experiences, successes, and failures become fuel for someone else’s learning—and vice versa. This is how you capture institutional knowledge. This is how you ensure no lesson learned ever walks out the door again.
Why This Matters—In Business, in Life, and in Leadership
Today’s business environment mirrors the conditions we faced in combat and aviation:
- High uncertainty
- Rapid change
- Multiple plausible outcomes
- Time pressure
- High cost of failure
Every missed signal, delayed decision, or poor handoff creates consequences: lost revenue, wasted time, broken trust—or worse. TCDM prepares leaders, teams, and organizations to operate decisively and cohesively in the chaos.
A New Way to Train: The Convene Platform
This course isn’t just a classroom experience—it’s interactive, asynchronous, and always available through the Convene Training Application. We meet you where you are and provide the flexibility and structure to fit real life. Whether you’re in healthcare, aviation, emergency services, business leadership, or any fast-moving field, this program was built to fit into your workflow and elevate your performance.
Your 12 Seconds Could Come Tomorrow
You won’t get to pick when your moment comes. The unexpected boardroom crisis. The customer service failure. The medical emergency. The engine failure. The family conversation that shifts everything.
The question is: Will you and your team be ready?
For me, 12 seconds changed everything. That moment of loss became a moment of purpose. My mission now is to make sure your team doesn’t have to learn the hard way. Let’s train together, so when it matters most—you don’t freeze, you don’t guess, you lead.
MATTHEW CURRIN
Matthew is the founder and visionary behind Convene AIR, a collaborative learning platform born from a lifetime of high-stakes decision-making, operational leadership, and a deep belief in the power of shared experience. Read full bio.