Instincts over Instruments: In the sky, data trumps instinct. Not so on the ground.

Growing up, my bedroom was filled with biplanes, MiGs and Zeros. I could spot the difference between a DC-9-40 and a 707 a mile up. I dreamed of flying. Instead I chose a business career. But finally—finally—five years ago, I got my license to fly. 

A while back, I ran into some bumpy weather. Small planes get bounced around in the wind a lot more than jetliners, and it can get a little too exciting. Back on the ground, I got to thinking about how managing the cockpit has shaped how I manage at work. There are definite, crazy parallels between flying an aluminum tube 10,000 feet above the Earth and steering a company, but what really struck me was actually how conversely pilots and business managers need to act and react. 

In the cockpit they teach us to trust the data and not listen to our instincts too much. It turns out our inner ear isn’t always very good at keeping things straight and level. When it’s dark and cloudy outside, we trust our instruments. 

But in business, it’s critical to listen to our gut, not just our data. 

Here’s the thing: Our businesses get bounced around by forces outside our control as well. Turbulence comes with the territory. The question is, what do we do about it? How do we decide when to act? 

Pilots and business leaders both take in a barrage of data, doing everything they can to maintain an extremely high degree of situational awareness. If you’ve ever glanced at the cockpit of a commercial jet, you know the array of data your pilots are monitoring during a flight, from airspeed and altitude to fuel levels and flight path. In business terms, there’s customer growth, revenue, capex and all the rest. Pilots are also tuned in to a constant flow of information about shifting weather patterns, equipment fidelity and air traffic. Just like market conditions, competitor positioning and tactics, and available paths to growth. 

Developing a strong “Spidey sense” for when we need to push hard on the throttle takes time and experience (and some mistakes), but it’s an essential skill of any business leader. A good business leader has to learn to fly on VFR (visual flight rules). We’ve gotta look out the window and make corrections in real-time based on what we’re seeing with our own eyes.   

That’s how I like to make business decisions. There’s a saying in aviation: “Aviate, then Navigate.” First, keep the plane flying. That’s a flying metaphor that actually does apply to business.  

Our business “passengers,” whether employees or customers or partners, rely on our ability to get it right. When CEO John Legere and I joined T-Mobile three and a half years ago, the company was in a rapid descent. We looked over the data and made what amounted to an informed, gut decision to veer off on a new trajectory altogether. There wasn’t time for a task force to study the options or compile reams of data. We took in all of the information we could get our hands on and made some judgements based on experience and instinct. We put the company, and the industry for that matter, on a radically different course. We didn’t make those decisions lightly. After all, tens of thousands of livelihoods—and the future of the company—hung in the balance. 

Today, the turnaround of the company is behind us. T-Mobile is the fastest-growing wireless company, and our customers are the most satisfied. But I constantly stress the importance of fiercely guarding our momentum. If my team detects any sign anywhere at any time that our momentum’s slipping, we act first and analyze later. 

The moment we see a trend we don’t like, we act. There will be plenty of time to study it later. If we didn’t get it right the first time, we correct course and keep moving. Likewise, when we see something working, we lean into it hard and fast. We stoke it. We don’t wait. We don’t hold back. 

Up in the air, I do everything in my power to anticipate and avoid surprises. Down on the ground, more and more, the most critical work of business leaders is to force innovation and disruption. We inspire fresh ideas and drive change within the organization and out in the marketplace. Up there, I steer clear of sudden weather. Down here, my team and I stir up the storms.

Mike is Chief Operating Officer at T-Mobile USA, Inc. You can also follow him on Twitter @SievertMike.