"Feedback is the breakfast of champions"

Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, in The One Minute Manager (from B. Collins, VA)

Run Your Business Like Flying a Jumbo Jet

How does a pilot manage to fly a complex system like a jumbo jet with thousands of complex interconnected parts and systems, each of which is critical in some way to the stability, comfort and life of the people in it; particularly, when things move very fast and much of the complex inner workings are hidden from view with many not immediately accessible.

Isn't that a bit like your business? Isn't the business you own and manage running at what seems like warp speed with many systems and complex interconnections, each of which must function well and work together to ensure the life of the company and livelihood of its employees?

How do pilots control an airliner as complex as an Airbus 800 or Boeing 747 or even the now retired Space Shuttle and what can you learn from the way pilots manage those complex systems? Quotation what can you learn from the way pilots manage those complex systems?

JumboJet 4950259 First of all they are superbly trained in the first place to do the job they have and update their skills continually. When flying, they rely on carefully thought out redundant automated systems with built-in monitoring that instantly alerts the pilots to "anomalies" that require their attention while taking over routine tasks like keeping the plane on course, at altitude, etc.

Such systems are designed to take immediate action to adjust parameters to adjust the the plane's systems to keep the aircraft on course, speed, altitude, etc., without the pilots' intervention. Where built-in corrections are not restoring things or danger is detected, the system is designed to issue increasing levels of alert to the pilots, with "Pull Up, Pull Up, PULL UP," being one of the many terms we have all heard on TV and in movies just before the inevitable crash.

So, what can you learn from pilots and how they fly an aircraft?

In your business, aren't you are the pilot in command and responsible for the welfare of yourself, your family and everyone in your company Quotation you are the pilot in command and responsible for the welfare of yourself, your family and everyone in your company
? You’d be surprised at just how much you have in common with the pilot of an airliner.

However, unlike a pilot, you probably didn't get thoroughly trained in the job you have and sort of made it up as you went along. You likely didn't get much recurrent training to update and perfect your skills… It was sort of like learning to fly with no help. Scary eh? (By the way, you might want to do something about updating your knowledge and skills; it is just smart business.)

Just like an airline captain, don't you rely on a team of employees and outside advisers you call upon, specialists who deal with complex systems like marketing, sales, production scheduling, computer systems, IRS taxes or OSHA regulations?

autopilot 3547223 Did you know pilots on most aircraft, even small ones, rely on autopilots and don’t "hand fly" (that is manually control) the plane all the time. Many top of the line business jets and commercial aircraft are perfectly capable of taking off, setting up cruise and flying to their destination then land and roll out without the pilot doing more than pressing a few buttons. Even many of the small planes you see also have autopilots too; it just makes things safer and easier.

Now most pilots like to hand fly some, after all they are pilots! However, all rely on their autopilots to take the monotony out of their work and give them time to monitor really important things like their stock portfolios…

Seriously, they use the time to monitor their aircraft “dashboard” (it’s really called an instrument panel) for anomalies, ensure that the automated systems are functioning correctly and that they are on course, etc. They take the time freed up to study the weather en route and plan alternatives to avoid bad weather, plotting a course around storms, etc. They trust their autopilot but verify and cross check their cockpit instruments, even the autopilot, to be sure all systems are performing correctly.

Do you run your business on autopilot most of the time, letting most things take care of themselves then responding when things go off track? Or, do you frantically try to hand fly your business all the time?

The real question is not if you should use a business “autopilot;" it’s how well designed your systems are to monitor your company’s critical components and warn before the 'wings' come off... Quotation The real question is not if you should use a business “autopilot;" it’s how well designed your systems are to monitor your company’s critical components and warn before the 'wings' come off...

As the "pilot" of your business, ask yourself:

Do you have systems that are self-monitoring and that automatically cause corrective action to be taken before something becomes a fatal problem? That is, do you have clear objectives for each major system - sales, marketing, operations and finance and a way to monitor those with self-correcting feedback mechanisms implemented?

Does each group and activity in your company have clear objectives and goals? (Having clear goals and objectives is the equivalent of a pilot knowing where they are going before taking off.)

Do your people have the knowledge, skills, tools, insights and the permission to take self-corrective action on their own without running back to you? Having to go back to ask “control” if they can do something is one of the things that spelled disaster for many enemy pilots in recent history.

Do you have built-in reporting set up that will feed an easy to review "dashboard" the information needed to flash a yellow warning or red "alert" that something is getting out of hand that requires your attention… before something major fails?

If you have not put well thought out mechanisms into practice and trained and empowered employees to take action on their own - and most businesses haven’t - especially small ones - then expect to be constantly flooded with emergencies and a stream of decisions you have to make. It’s a lot like having to handle bad weather, plot deviations from course and deal with unruly passengers… Quotation expect to be constantly flooded with emergencies and a stream of decisions you have to make. It’s a lot like having to handle bad weather, plot deviations from course and deal with unruly passengers…

And don't forget to have time to have a family life and take a vacation too!

If you need help creating and implementing an autopilot for your business so your company's operations are self managing and your employees are trained to handle most situations without your active involvement, contact us. We’ll help you develop and implement a system that gives you reliable feedback information you can monitor. To learn more contact Brian's FocalPoint Home Office Referral Team, for a coach near you .

A certified FocalPoint Business Coaching Professional has the tools, training, programs and skills to work with you and your team to make your job one of monitoring the autopilot, not hand flying your company through turbulent skies.

Who knows, you could even have time to learn to fly... or golf.

How does a pilot manage a complex system like a jumbo jet with thousands of complex interconnected parts and systems, each of which is critical in some way to the stability, comfort and life of the people in it? Particularly, when things move very fast and much of the complex inner workings are hidden from view with many not immediately accessible.

Isn't that a bit like your business? Isn't the business you own and manage one running at what seems like warp speed with many systems and complex interconnections, each of which must function well and work together to ensure the life of the company and livelihood of its employees?

How do pilots control an airliner as complex as an Airbus 800 or Boeing 747 or even the now retired Space Shuttle and what can you learn from the way they manage those complex systems?

First of all they are superbly trained in the first place to do the job they have and update their skills continually. When flying, they rely on carefully thought out redundant automated systems with built-in monitoring that instantly alerts the pilots to "anomalies" that require their attention while taking over routine tasks like keeping the plane on course, at altitude, etc.

So, what can you learn from how pilots and how they fly an aircraft?

In your business, aren't you are the pilot in command and responsible for the welfare of yourself, your family and everyone in your company? You’d be surprised at just how much you have in common with the pilot of an airliner.

Unlike a pilot, you probably didn’t get thoroughly trained in the job you have and sort of made it up as you went along. You likely didn’t get much recurrent training to update and perfect your skills… It was sort of like learning to fly with no help. Scary eh?

Just like an airline captain, you rely a team of employees and outside advisors you call upon; specialists you who deal with complex systems like marketing, sales, production scheduling, computer systems, IRS taxes or OSHA regulations.

Do you know pilots on most aircraft, even small ones, rely on autopilots and don’t "hand fly" (that is manually control the plane every second) the plane all the time. Many top of the line business jets and commercial aircraft are perfectly capable of taking off, setting up cruise and flying to their destination then land and roll out without the pilot doing more than pressing a few buttons. Many of the small planes you see also have rudimentary autopilots.

Seriously, they use the time to monitor their aircraft “dashboard” (it’s really called an instrument panel) for anomalies, ensure that the automated systems are functioning correctly and that they are on course, etc. They take the time freed up to study the weather in route and plan alternatives to avoid bad weather, plotting a course around storms, etc. They trust their autopilot but verify and cross check their cockpit instruments to be sure all systems are performing correctly.

Do you run your business on autopilot most of the time, letting most things take care of themselves then responding when things go off track?

The real question is not if you use your “autopilot” to handle the routine; it’s how well designed your systems are to monitor your company’s critical components and warn before the wings come off...

As the "pilot" of your business, ask yourself:

Do you have systems that are self-monitoring and that automatically cause corrective action to be taken before it becomes a problem? That is, do you have clear objectives for each major system - sales, marketing, operations and finance and a way to monitor those with self-correcting feedback?
Does each group and activity in your company have clear objectives and goals? This is the equivalent of a pilot knowing where they are going before taking off.
Do your people have the knowledge, skills, tools, insights and the permission to take self-corrective action on their own without running back to you? Having to go back to ask “control” if they can do something is one of the traits that spelled disaster for enemy pilots in recent wars.
Do you have built-in reporting set up that will give your "dashboard" the information needed and flash a yellow warning or red "alert" that something is getting out of hand that requires your attention… before the wings come off?

If you have not put well thought out control mechanisms into practice and employees trained and empowered to take action on their own - and most businesses don’t - especially small ones - then expect to be constantly being flooded with emergencies and a stream of decisions you have to make. It’s a lot like having to handle bad weather, plot deviations from course and deal with unruly passengers…

And don't forget to have time to have a family life and take a vacation in the middle of all this!

Who knows, you could even have time to learn to fly... or golf.

THE BUSINESS COACH

Run Your Business Like Flying a Jumbo Jet