Aviation of Business

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Jul 18

I was listening to WCBE (90.5 in Columbus, Ohio) early this week. It’s Central Ohio’s NPR station.

While listening, I heard some news about the debate on setting goals to start reducing the U.S. footprint in Iraq. Apparently, the congress is debating (or, more accurately, the Republicans are filibustering) the idea of setting goals (which are the cornerstone of any success in any activity in life - ask any successful businessperson).

The filibustering isn’t the good part… my favorite part of the NPR story was the quotes (and I wish I could remember who said them):

“The best way to support our troops is to support our troops…”
“The best way to defeat Al Qaida is to defeat Al Qaida…”

Okay…

So…

What?!?

It could be said about anything that the best way to do something is to do it.

“The best way to fly a plane is to fly a plane.”
“The best way to lose weight is to lose weight.”

Yeah. Duh. But it’s not that simple.

There HAS to be a plan. There HAS to be something more than a blanket statement of the obvious… HOW do we support our troops? HOW do we defeat Al Qaida? WHY do we need to? WHO is going to do it? WHAT needs to our troops have? WHERE do we focus our limited resources to do so? WHEN do we check to see what kind of progress we have made?

I am sure there are many that nodded and agreed with the statements made by our distinguished representatives from Mt. Obvious. Those people, I’m sure, think that those statements were deep and thoughtful. I think that they were a waste of time and a sad statement about the people running our country. Don’t give me soundbites - especially not inane, stupid ones. Give me substance.

And we all know - the best way to talk about something sustantial is to talk about something sustantial.

Fair Winds,
Andrew

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on May 29

I haven’t done this in several months (though I did post on the first one ever - in the comments sections of the post itself), but I think it’s a good idea and a great way to reflect on what one has learned in the past month (and if you can’t say that you’ve learned at least five things in a month, no matter how trivial it seems to you, there’s something wrong with you!).

 So, in the manner laid out by the Joyful, Jubilant Learning Blog, here are my top five “learnings” for the month of May:

1. No matter where you are, no matter what you think, you have friends near you.  My wife and I were at a beautiful wedding over Memorial Day weekend in Clearwater (Dunedin), Florida.  It was the wedding of a very good friend of ours who Jill met while working in Theatre in Columbus, Ohio (and who now lives in New York City, NY, but whose family is still in Florida).  We didn’t expect to know anyone at the wedding or the reception except the bride and groom themselves (whom we expected to be rather busy, for some reason); however, once we got to the reception, we were almost immediately approached by two other couples who knew us (though we didn’t know them immediately).  It turned out that Jill had met the women while they were the bride’s roomates in college!  And at the end of the reception, one of the bridesmaids was another friend of the bride’s whom Jill had met previously!  Another of the joys of networking… in Florida, we ran into people who we knew from Columbus, Cincinnati, and Kentucky!
2. A business can survive through almost any length of “down season” if the “busy season” is busy enough!  A small shop in Clearwater, FL makes 1/2-pound cookies and homemade ice-cream - and was pretty much empty except for while we were in it (eating a chocolate-chip cookie with two scoops of vanilla ice-cream and hot-fudge on top… whoa!).  The man behind the counter said that spring break is always his best time.  Planning ahead for the rest of the year is of utmost importance!
3. Related to the above, a business can survive without a business plan or without good leadership if it’s in the right location.  If you serve alcohol and pizza, and are located on a beach where college students frolic during spring, you could leave your business i the hands of a monkey and still survive.
4. Love bug season in Florida SUCKS.  Those damn bugs were EVERYWHERE and they were ANNOYING!  Jill and I took to calling them “Fuck Bugs” for two reasons - 1) they were fucking, and 2) we were constantly saying “Fuck, bugs! Get away from me!” I buried as many as possible in the sand, alive. 
5. Business is just breaking down a large “problem” into small, actionable parts.  The “problem” is your business and the small, actionable parts are your goals and plans to reach where you want the business to go.  This is basic - but I constantly need a reminder of it.  I’m reading Robert Allen’s Multiple Streams of Internet Income, which breaks down internet business quite well.  I’ve already taken 13 pages of notes and I’m not even halfway through it.  I’ll buy a copy for myself (I’m reading a library copy) so I can highlight and underline and take notes in the margins…

Hope you enjoyed this, and I encourage you to do the same thing on your own blog… (what?  You don’t have a blog?  Leave a comment on this one or on JJL’s!)  or at least in your own head so you reap the benefit of reflecting on the month behind you!

Next post will be back to our regularly scheduled programming (the sacred six flight instruments & how they relate to business)!

Fair Winds,
Andrew

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on May 5

An airplane is an amazing piece of machinery.  During some portions of a flight, it is required that the pilot make large changes and major corrections to the path of the aircraft.  Takeoff and landing are obvious places where this comes to mind.  This is called “hand flying” the airplane.

At other times, however, it is unnecessary to “hand fly” the plane - during straight and level “cruise” flight for instance.  During this phase of a flight, the pilot will use what’s called “trim” to make very slight corrections to the flight path of the airplane.  If the plane is descending slightly, the pilot will use “nose up trim” to stop the descent.  If climbing slightly, “nose down trim” may be used.  Some aircraft have trim for rolling (aileron trim) and turning (rudder trim) as well.  Keep in mind here that I am not talking about any kind of “auto-pilot;” this is just a way to more carefully and precisely control the plane once it is in “cruise” flight and flying at a single altitude and in one direction for a length of time.

This can be likened to a business (as always!).  At some points in the life of a business, like during the startup and initial growth, it is necessary to “hand fly” the business - you as an entrepreneur (pilot) must “control” the business more directly and make larger changes to its direction.  In an airplane this is during takeoff and climbout and only lasts a few minutes.  In business, it may last a few years. 

Additionally, if you plan on selling or in some other way “exiting” the business, you will, again, need to “hand fly” for awhile.  You may not be “hand flying” the business directly, but you will be directly and significantly involved in the process of finding a buyer and negotiating a fair price for both of you.  This roughly coincides with the approach and landing of an airplane - again a time when the pilot must be significantly involved in the aircraft’s control. 

Most other times during a business’s “flight,” small corrections and tweaks are all that is necessary to keep the company moving in the direction you want it to go.  This is, of course, assuming you have a good business plan (flight plan) and a good team (crew).  You also must be in a well-designed company (stable aircraft).  See my post on Tradeoffs for more on business design and aircraft design.

There ARE times during cruise flight when a business (or an airplane) DOES need to be hand flown - any time a change of direction is necessary.  In aviation, it is all about navigation or avoidance of other aircraft (which are subjects for other posts), and in business it is during times of change, when a new direction is needed to grow to the next level or to outmaneuver competition.

Times to hand fly an airplane / business:

• Takeoff / Startup
• Climbout / Initial growth phase (combination of trim and hand flying)
• Change in direction / New business opportunity
• Traffic avoidance / Response to competition (can be proactive or reactive)
• Initial descent / Considering exiting (combination of trim and hand flying)
• Approach to landing / Decision to exit made (combination of trim and hand flying)
• Landing / Exit of business (sale or other exit strategy)

The reason it is important to understand this is that is is possible to “hand fly” an aircraft (and a business) when it should be “trimmed.”  It is very easy to “overcorrect” when you hand fly an aircraft during cruise flight… this will cause large changes in altitude and direction because the pilot feels the need to directly control everything the aircraft does with relatively large control movements.  But in a stable aircraft, small adjustments with trim allow the plane to “fly itself” - and that is exactly what aircraft (and businesses) should be designed to do.

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Apr 27

Have you ever noticed the paths that are worn into the grass from where people walk when they don’t use the sidewalks? Why does that happen? It could be argued that sidewalks are a way to keep people in line and conforming to what someone else wants them to do, and that the fact that there ARE paths worn into the grass means that the entrepreneur mentality is widespread in the human population - this is why people don’t follow the path laid out for them by the sidewalks.  Walking in the grass is a way to buck conformity and “blaze your own path.”  We’ve all read the following poem a million times:

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowthThen took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

However, once everyone starts taking “the road less traveled by,” it becomes more like a path cut in a field by cattle… follow the leader.  Humans are just as likely to fall into the “herd mentality” as any other animal. 

Sidewalks are just convenient borders, not necessarily useful paths.  So the fact is that paths get cut into the grass by human nature, which is to take the path of least resistance.  The only real “trailblazing” entrepreneur was the first person who walked the path - before it was even a path - and most likely it was done more out of laziness than out of “risky,” trailblazing, entrepreneurial moxie. 

So what is one to do?  Beyond the obvious environmental and aesthetic reasons to avoid the “beaten” path, I believe that the simple act of walking off the path beaten by so many cattle-minded folks will begin to train your mind to be different than others - which, we all know, is step number one to becoming an entrepreneur.

So do you want to be like the rest of the herd, killing the grass and making lazy trails across your corporate or campus lawns?  Or do you want to think about what you do and why you do it, taking care not to destroy something to get where you’re going? Leave a comment telling us how you train yourself to think and act differently than others so you can get what others don’t have!

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Apr 3

A very close friend worked his last day at the company at which I worked for nearly six years today. He had been there for eleven years (count ‘em - 11!). It’s an aviation company, and as such it has seen its share of ups and downs. Over the past year or so, however, the company’s leadership turned to layoffs and generally bad management of its people to turn its financials around. Temporarily, I think it’ll work. Long-term, I think it’s a mistake. Regardless, I recieved the following message from my friend today. Talk about leaving with class!

This final message is to a select group of people who are particularly dear to me…

You are special to me, and I’ll miss you. [Our CEO] has said “it’s the people that make the difference” and I couldn’t agree more. [Company Name] is unbelievably volatile with change, and it has its share of corporate problems, but it’s as good as it is because of the folks who show up every day committed to doing a great job and never giving up on making things better. Each of you is one of those people and each of you has influenced me for the better.

While my career here is coming to a close and a new chapter is opening, yours continues. And like mine, your time with [Company Name] will continue to add to your skills, open up new opportunities, and give you many more chances to make that difference. Despite the setbacks, I look back fondly on almost 11 years of growth and development here, and I’m thankful that I’ve moved into the world of training through opportunities that came out of this company. I especially want to thank [Name Removed], who in 1998 took a chance and asked me to join him in training [employees] – that little effort forever changed the course of my career, and brought me into what I believe I was always meant to do: educate and develop people.

I’m also thankful for the countless projects and teams I’ve been a part of, for the learning I’ve done, and for the many areas of the business I’ve been in contact with. There was rarely a dull moment, and I don’t doubt that will continue. In that I’ve learned to seize the day, and take every chance to make the most of it. We must remain committed and determined – these are always rewarding whether in the company or somewhere else, no matter what the endeavor.

I also continue to learn not to let external factors determine my mood, attitude, or mission. It’s worthy to be true to yourself and even more so to your purpose – I believe there is a plan for every life and a benevolent God who created it. No matter what the world does or says, these things transcend it. Work is just work, and no company is perfect, nor can it provide the deepest meaning and purpose our hearts long for. So no matter how tough it gets, we can always look back and see benefit in our work and the companies that provide it. Even more so with the relationships we build.

May your career be blessed as mine has, even with the difficulties that come along the way; may they help us along as we mature and build character, all the while gaining valuable experience to contribute to our futures and the world around us. Thanks to [Company Name] for my career, and thanks again to you for being a part of it.

Best wishes,
–[Name]

We should all take a cue from my good friend and his departure message - learning to separate one’s self from one’s job and to look to many things for self-worth, mission, and attitude, as well as to use the good and the bad to build a worthwhile character and mature into who we are meant to be.

Fair Winds,
Andrew

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Feb 25

We’ve all been told how important a network is to our success.  Once we’ve decided to “do something,” whether it be starting a new business or finding a new job or new career, having a good network becomes crucial to the ultimate success of that endeavor.

If you are starting a business, knowing people from many disciplines can be nothing but helpful to you; looking for advice on what business structure to use for your entrepreneurial idea?  Perhaps you know (or know someone who knows) a good business lawyer.  Looking to start an online business?  Maybe you have a good friend who is a web-designer.  Did you invent a better mousetrap?  Who better to introduce it to the world than your brother-in-law who is a professional in sales.

If you’re looking for a new career/job, it’s good to know people who work in the industry you’re looking to enter.  It’s good to know Human Resources professionals from your current job (or previous jobs) – they generally have connections in other HR departments at other companies or even general search firms.  Maybe your old college roommate is a head-hunter now (or can give you the name and number of the headhunter who found her the great job she started a few months ago!)… the possibilities are endless.

But what is a network?  What is social capital?  Is your network your friends from high-school and college?  Is it your professional acquaintances from work?  Is it your social acquaintances from the dive bar where you sing karaoke on Wednesday nights?  Or is it only the people you know who can actually help you in some way – people who have something you need and are willing to give it to you?

First of all, understand that everyone you know or have met is your network.  Having said that, also understand that a network is absolutely not a one-way street.  Once you have met someone, it is up to you to cultivate the relationship to ensure that your network continues to grow and does not begin to dry up and shrink.  Because - let’s be honest here - your functional network is much smaller than your network as a whole. When you need something from your network, it’s your active contacts who are going to be willing and able to help you, not necessarily the guy who gave you his business card at that “How to deal with difficult people” seminar at the Mariott two years ago. Unless that guy happens to know or be related to someone you know well and talk to regularly.

Which brings me to my main point - maintaining an active, open, entrepreneurial network.  Networking is not just meeting new people (although to keep a network growing you must meet new people once in awhile); it is also reconnecting with people you already know on a regular basis.  For example:  Marcie and Jamie work with you at your current job, and they used to eat lunch with you and others - sometimes one-on-one, sometimes as a larger group.  But over time, they have begun to eat lunch by themselves, in their cubicles.  Not so they can get more work done (which is no excuse anyway - if you can’t get your work done without skipping your lunch break, you either have too much work or a time-management issue), just alone.  While one should never take no time for themselves, one should also not avoid cultivating the relationships built over time.  Marcie and Jamie’s “social-capital” network is shrinking right before their eyes.  Their former lunch partners are now wondering, “What did I do?  Why is Marcie avoiding me?” They may even be saying, “If she always works through lunch, why doesn’t she get more done?  Why do I still have to pick up the same slack I’ve always picked up?”  Oops.  This person certainly isn’t going to get the help they want and may need in the future from their network.

There’s a book called Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi, which discusses the exact issue above.  I’ve heard that it’s very good, and that Mr. Ferrazzi is considered one of the most connected people in the world.  While I haven’t read the book, I bet I already know one of it’s main themes - take lunch with people in your network, and add more people to your network when you meet them at business dinners, office parties, etc.  I plan on picking up this book from the library soon and getting everything I can out of it.

As a last thought before ending this (admittedly long) post, keep in mind that a network is not there only for you to get something from.  It’s there for you to give as well.  There is a long-known but not well-understood law of business and the universe - you get what you give.  It seems nonsensical, but if you want to attract more money into your life, you should give more money away (not spend more money, but donate and tithe more money).  If you want someone to help you, you must first help others (not necessarily the person whose help you want).  It’s the pay-it-forward phenomenon, even more like karma, whether or not you want to believe it.  When was the last time you gave someone a smile and didn’t get one back?  A network is the same thing.  You have to be willing to give before you can get - and you have be willing to not keep track of who owes you because you’ve done something for them.  Let the cards fall where they may - ultimately, the universe provides and balances.  Let it do what it does while you do what you can.

How do you tender your network? How has your network assisted you?  Leave a comment and tell us!