My Flying News

I had a break from flying for a living for several years for family reasons. As much as I like being employed as a pilot, I truly enjoyed being at home during those years.

During my break, I was not far from the industry. I sold aviation software. I have experience being a “mid-level manager type” for a large Fortune 500 company. In other words, I have experience as a pilot and a “9 to 5’er.”

There are several pros and cons to flying and business careers. I have enjoyed both tremendously.

The #1 Pro and the #1C0n

The number 1 pro about the airlines is execution, and the number 1 con about corporate America is the lack of timely execution.

The number 1 pro about the airlines is execution and the number 1 con about corporate America is the lack of timely execution.

In corporate America, I had to go to meetings to discuss other meetings. Having a meeting without an agenda, which would result in more meetings without agendas, was frustrating. Some of my bosses in corporate America just needed an excuse to travel and dine on steaks instead of doing actual work. I write “my bosses” in plural because Vice Presidents were everywhere. Vice Presidents in charge of nothing, or VPicons, as I refer to them.

The meetings were seldom fruitful because VPicons prefer to avoid making decisions should that decision come back to haunt them. Much of Corporate America doesn’t have a culture where it is OK to fail, so decisions are never made, and innovation can be stifled.

I remember a whole year of meetings and conference calls to give a name to a product. I remember thinking the product would be obsolete before they decided on a name for the darned thing. The name they eventually came up with was dumb.

“Meetings are what happens when people aren’t working”

Elon Musk, GQ

In some big corporations with thousands of employees, a much smaller percentage does meaningful work. The dedicated people who operate, sell, innovate, and get things done. I also learned the key to success in a big company is finding and befriending these people.

In addition to befriending the real people, as a manager of a small team, I also took it upon myself to shield my team from the bureaucracy. I would protect them by appeasing the VPicons, all while my small team of folks were executing our goals.

Airlines are Great at Executing

As much as it pains me to compliment the airlines and airline executives (they are management, and I am labor, after all), this is not the way airlines do business. Like corporate America, airlines are large companies with their share of bureaucracy. Eventually, they decide on a schedule, and it is published. From the top down, everyone knows it is their job to execute it. It is not even something that has to be said. That’s it. Departure time; no more meetings.

People like to trash-talk the airlines, and we deserve much criticism. There are plenty of things we do wrong. Some of our melt downs are not excusable. However, numbers do not lie, and what is accomplished at the airlines daily is amazing. Almost miraculous.

For example, on January 21, 2 years from now, I can’t tell you what I will be doing? I am curious if I will be off or at work. What will the weather be like, or what will happen worldwide? We may be determining who the US President will be? None of us can even say if we will be alive on that day! God willing, we will all be alive and kicking.

However, I can confidently say which airline flights will be flown that day. Regardless of the weather, politics, air traffic control, aircraft maintenance, broken parts, and crew sick calls, I can tell you with relative certainty which airline flights will operate between which cities. With almost 80% accuracy, I can tell you the exact time these flights will depart and arrive.

Think about that: we can predict the future, thousands and thousands of flights, and we can be confident of them. If you are ever offered those odds in Vegas, I suggest betting it all.

3 Things Corporate America can do to Improve Execution

Below are 3 things companies can do to improve execution. What makes me an expert, and where do I get the ego to lecture executives? It’s OK. I’m a pilot.

1. Make it cultural.

At the airlines, it is in our culture. I believe in our DNA. Pilots, flight attendants, ramp agents, customer service, and management must safely get the flight on time. Getting clients, even the crazy ones, from point A to point B. We know it is why we exist and why we are paid.

Before scheduling a meeting, email, or call, ask yourself if it will aid in execution? Will this call benefit employees or clients? Will it distract my people from their jobs? Will this meeting make or save money, or will it waste money?

2. Reward it.

As flight crew, we are bonused on efficiency. We are bonused if we save time and money. If efficiency and execution are rewarded goals, there will undoubtedly be fewer meetings.

Do you have teams that make money or are efficient? Do they collaborate well yet have very few meetings? Pay them. Learn from them.

3. Find your executors and protect them.

Find dedicated people who operate, sell, innovate, and get things done. They exist in tour organizations. Find them, nurture and protect them. Keep them out of meetings. Keep them away from VPicons. Make sure to stay out of their way. Don’t let meetings, “good ideas,” or “mission creep”, slip in at “departure time.”

2022 Airline Statistics

On Time	76.72%
Air Carrier Delay	7.61%
Weather Delay	0.75%
Air Traffic Control Delay	4.93%
Security Delay	0.06%
Aircraft Arriving Late	6.99%
Cancelled	2.71%
Diverted	0.24%