Three aviation principles for community-builders and founders ✈️
TL;DR Don't let the plane crash, then don't get lost, then keep people informed.
When building a startup or a community one major challenge (at least from my experience) is setting the right priorities. It sounds obvious, but if those priorities are unclear or all mixed up the fine balance of the project suffers and the risk of failing grows.
But… priorities are not only knowing what to do and what not to do. Priorities have to do with time. Actually, they have to do with the action of time: “timing”. And that implies having good judgment.
For example, if you see people drowning in the sea it is more important to save their life than design a safety protocol, right? Once the poor unfortunate soul is rescued, we should redirect our focus to reduce the risk of that happening again. Not the other way around.
Well, that decision that may seem obvious (and I hope it is obvious) becomes a lot fuzzier when we face daily decisions regarding our communities or startups. Should we focus on growth or profit? Should we decide in favour of product or sales?
These challenges become even more difficult to solve when we add complexity to our systems. Let’s say we are a perfect judge for all things in our startup… ok, I know it’s implausible, but bear with me: let’s accept we are that perfect judge.
The moment we hire our first employee that “perfection” is broken: two minds will have to find a way to see in the same direction and decide the best for the project despite the innate differences between them.
How can we ensure we keep choosing the right things once other people enter into the equation? Of course, this example relied on the hypothesis of us being the perfect judge. But neither we nor anyone really is.
Our prudence is usually impacted by an avalanche of circumstances, internal and external. So, it’s not only a matter of complexity but of quasi-impossibility! We cannot rely on our consistency of making good decisions and that’s why we craft systems that help us raise our prudence game.
One of my favourite systems of prioritization comes from the aviation world. I’m not a pilot, but merely an enthusiast. And maybe this outsider view helped me grasp this system as something valuable for the community-building and startup-building ecosystem.
When a pilot is on the air they learn to prioritize their work to first aviate (fly) then navigate and finally communicate.
🛩 Aviate: “Make sure the plane does not fall”. If a pilot is not flying, especially in risky situations, death is imminent. When building a community or startup, aviate is execution or operations: guarantee that the key activities are done, guarantee that they add value, guarantee the business or community does not crash.
🧭 Navigate: “Let the plane get where it needs to go”. If a pilot doesn’t know where they should arrive, any route seems possible and the risk of death raises. In businesses and communities, navigating is having processes, controls and tools to satisfy the service levels agreed with clients and the growth and financial goals set to fulfil our stakeholders' expectations. One tool I find really useful for this, that also comes from the aviation world are the checklists.
📞 Communicate: “Let the right people know what's happening when it's happening”. A pilot should communicate. I agree with the saying of “no-news is bad news”. But a pilot should know what to communicate when to communicate it and to whom in order to keep everything clear. If a pilot fails to communicate what is needed when is needed to the right set of people, they won’t be able to receive help and put everyone in danger. In businesses and communities, communicate is guarantee a correct flow of information using adequate tools and media.
One of my greatest mistakes in the past was having these priorities all the way around. When I founded my first company I ensured everyone was informed and our destination was crystal clear… but we rarely focused on keeping the plane flying. The result? Ahem… Yup 🙈
I would love to know your systems to prioritize as well as your thoughts on this approach, do you think is valuable and viable to follow these rules?
Hi Juan! Lovely metaphor, I resonate a lot. Your story reminds me of how important it is to know in which phase we are nurturing a community. Is it discovery, validation, growth? Regardless of how we (comm builders) like to label them, the essence is the same.
You need to know where you place yourself on the map to make the right choices. Otherwise, if you start mixing and matching actions from one stage to another, things will soon start to crack. As with anything in life, you can't speed up things. Just do one step after the other.
Cheers! 👋