When the Captain Loses Track of Time: A Company Is an Aircraft, and Its Leader Is the Captain
To keep getting the same results, continue doing what you are doing. To achieve different results, change your behaviour until you achieve the results you want.
Only 150 years ago, humans learned to fly. During the first decade of the previous century, the first flight attempt ended fatally for 25% of pilots.
Today, the risk of being injured while flying is extremely low—600 times lower than when visiting a doctor.
How was such a remarkable breakthrough achieved in such a short time?
Since the beginning of aviation, systems have been introduced to reduce risks caused by human factors. These include procedures for take-off, landing, emergencies and accident investigations, as well as the implementation of lessons learned from those investigations. Compliance with these procedures is legally mandatory for everyone involved.
United Airlines Flight 173 in December 1978 was one of the most significant events in the development of aviation safety. The flight ended in disaster, with ten people losing their lives.
The aircraft crashed because the captain failed to notice that it was running out of fuel and did not respond in time. He repeatedly ignored warnings from the flight engineer because he was focused on solving a seemingly more urgent problem.
When the landing gear was lowered during the approach, the crew heard an unusual thud, and the instruments did not indicate that the gear had locked into position.
The aircraft began circling while the captain focused on the landing gear. Eventually, it ran out of fuel, forcing the crew to bring a 90-ton aircraft down in a residential area.
The subsequent investigation led to the development of a system of procedures that ensured greater crew involvement and prevented captains from losing track of time—in other words, from forgetting the bigger picture: landing the aircraft safely.
A Company Is an Aircraft, and Its Leader Is the Captain
A safe landing—or sustainable development—is achieved by consciously creating options that strengthen the organisation’s future competitiveness.
Having a choice should always be preferred to having no choice. The person with the most options controls the system and the game.
Without options, people become reactive and make decisions from a short-term perspective.
What should be included in the leadership team’s control procedure—or management calendar—at least once every quarter?
1. Trends, Strengths and Weaknesses
Which trends will influence the organisation’s development over the next one or two years?
What capabilities must the organisation possess to turn those trends to its advantage?
Which internal barriers—behaviours, habits, systems and processes—could turn those trends into threats?
2. Priorities
Considering these trends, have we chosen the right development priorities?
Does everyone in the organisation understand them and feel committed to them?
3. People
Do we have the right people working on the right priorities?
Does their professional development support the execution of those priorities?
4. Relationships
Are the right people meeting with the right people systematically and consistently?
Are these relationships helping the organisation execute its priorities?
We are deeply grateful to our clients for their trust. The phrase they use most often when describing their cooperation with us is:
“With Empowerment’s help, we achieved our goals faster.”
That is precisely our strength—helping leaders achieve their goals faster.
If your organisation has goals you would like to reach more quickly, let us discuss how to make that happen.
Book a One-Hour Meeting
During the meeting, we will help you assess your company’s current position, identify the best solutions and create a step-by-step action plan for achieving your goals faster and strengthening your organisation’s capabilities.
After the meeting, you will have a clear and practical overview of what needs to be done differently—and more intelligently—to reach the desired results sooner.
As stated earlier:
A company is an aircraft, and its leader is the captain.
The captain decides whether the organisation takes off, where it is going and how quickly it gets there.