Many of us laugh at those people who fear flying. I have a mate Steve who cannot get on a plane without being mostly drunk for fear of flying. A flaw that caused him and his now-wife a stint in Miami’s prison system. A fortune in fines and as far as I am aware of a permanent ban from the United States. Idiot, doesn’t he know that flying is the safest form of travel???
Joe Rogan does a bit in one of his specials about all of us not being paranoid enough and are way too cocky. His suggestion take some edibles (weed in the food form) and get on a plane.
Cool stories bro… But what has this got to do with business?
I’ll get to that. Promise!
Before I do I want to ask sort of a parallel question…
Have you ever thought about the difference between an Airline mechanic vs a Car mechanic?
After all, they both work on machinery. Both need technical skills and know-how.
There are levels of complexity in both fields.
Yet as far as I am aware an airline mechanic is paid on average far more than the car mechanic.
Now, this is not to generalise I know some razor-sharp car mechanics and I know some let’s say more than a little bit blunt.
I know one guy who when starting out as an apprentice mechanic failed to tighten the nuts on a car that had just had its tyres changed. The nuts had been finger tightened so at a quick glance looked ok. Hell, the car even made it 75 meters down the road before thee of the wheels came off. The car was scrapped just like the guys’ career in mechanics. Fortunately, everyone walked away (some because they had no other transportation) without a scratch. No harm no foul.
So that brings me to the reason why I think one is more valuable and for that matter valued than the other at least in my opinion, and it is this…
Consequences!
You see if in general a car mechanic screws up, the car breaks down, the wheels fall off, or whatever, you don’t get to your destination. Annoyance, yes, time lost yes, maybe a handful of inconvenience. However, in the general scheme of things no biggy.
If an airline mechanic screws up. The plane falls out of the sky and hundreds of people die.
Years ago when I lived in Vienna, I had a mate Jim who was the chief Mechanic for British Airways in Austria. He was the guy who had the final say so if a plane could take off or not.
I asked him once how did he make that decision… His answer was simple he just said: “I just imagine my daughter was on the plane and ask myself would I let her fly?” Simple really!
So here is the business bit…
Too much in business has car mechanic like consequences. So because of that, too many of us in business approach everything like we are car mechanics. Our actions reflect the fact that if we do something wrong or for that matter right. Then it does not really matter. Nothing really bad happens. No one really dies.
So our thinking and our actions over time become just enough to not cause a disaster.
So it follows that our results reflect that. No real consequences, no real precision or focus.
Truth be told that is fair. Because most things don’t require Airline mechanic precision.
Here is the rub… Even if they don’t require it we should strive for that anyway. Because with that level of dedication and precision anything is possible. That level of care, focus and precision is our advantage.
While everyone else is happy with just enough, we excel. We are that little bit sharper, a little bit more focused a little bit better prepared. In time, all that extra effort compounds. Our dedication leaves our car mechanic friends in the dust. Or planes stay in the sky while our competitors fall back to earth.
We arrive in double quick time, they crash and burn.
If you want to learn how to put a little bit more precision into your business you might like to learn about the B.E.A.S.T Process