Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit

I’ve been a pilot as long as I’ve been working in the business world. Other than using the airplane for business flights from time to time, I’ve considered both as separate disciplines with little in common.

Last year, a friend and colleague suggested that I title an upcoming talk as “Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit.” That really resonated with me!

I have led this workshop many times and continue to connect the dots between business and flying.

Strive for nothing less than exceptional

Here’s a simple fact: commercial aviation has enjoyed a 99.9 percent success rate over the past five years (I’m not referring to the “business” success in commercial aviation — that would be an entirely different conversation!) What we’re talking about here is the act of flying passengers from points A to B safely. The track record is exceptional! Most people intuitively know this and readily hop aboard an airplane with very little concern whether they will make it safely to their destination.

But what if I told you the success rate wasn’t 99.9 percent and was more like 50 percent…would you get on the airplane? I would think not! But that’s the success rate in business.

Narrowing the success rate gap

Approximately 50 percent of businesses fail within their first five years of existence. Push that out another five years and close to two-thirds of all businesses fail. On top of that, many (if not most) of the businesses that “survive” are far away from reaching their full potential.

I’m focusing on leadership lessons from the cockpit to help unravel the mystery. What can we apply from the aviation industry’s 99.9 percent success rate directly to our business?

I have dedicated my next several blogs to sharing these secrets. They’re simple, powerful, and could be your key to sustaining a competitive advantage in your industry.

Let’s commit ourselves to narrowing the gap between 50 percent and 99.9 percent!

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