Opportunity in Adversity

Remember Chesley Sullenberger? "Sully" was the heroic US Airways flight 1549 pilot responsible for what the NTSB would call "the most successful ditching in aviation history" and the subject of a highly acclaimed movie starring Tom Hanks.

In most businesses, we don't generally face life and death situations but we do encounter the unexpected. When we do, we would do well to take some lessons from Captain Sullenberger.

Those lessons are simple.

1. Keep your poise. Panic clouds thinking. Gather facts about what happened and why and how it happened. Sully realized that both engines had shut down due to an encounter with a flock of large Canadian geese. He took control of the craft while his copilot sought to restart the engines.
2. Assess the situation and weigh your options. What can you do to minimize the damage and make the best out of the situation you're faced with? When then engines couldn't be restarted, their only options were to either TRY to reach the nearest airport - LaGuardia or Teterboro in New Jersey - or land in the Hudson.
3. Be decisive and act quickly. The engines failed at just past 3:27 that afternoon. At 3:29 Sully directed passengers to "brace for impact" as he had determined that their best course of action was to land in the Hudson.
4. Follow through. Upon successfully landing the plane in the river, there was still work to be done to get everyone to safety. Airbuses aren't meant to be seaworthy! The captain successfully led the safe evacuation of all 150 passenger and his crew without a single fatality.
5. Go the extra mile with your customers. Once you've "put out the fire," there's still work to be done in the aftermath of a crisis. Think big picture and go above and beyond what's considered fair to show your customers how much they're valued. Repair the damage. Provide the appropriate compensation. Then surprise them with a little more to strengthen their loyalty. US Airways did this with the passengers of flight 1549. I am amazed at how often businesses fail to grasp this.

No one invites adversity or unexpected emergencies but we should be prepared for them when they inevitably happen. Train your frontline people on how to respond and get them to view such situations as opportunities to stand out under challenging circumstances.

Good or bad, your customers will notice.