Seeing the World (and Aviation) Differently: Opportunities after COVID-19

When crisis hits, opportunities abound. We're just wired in a way we can't see them.

I recently saw a post by an A380 pilot. He stopped flying 16 months ago, and couldn't get a new job because of the pandemic. So what did he do?

He started his own business selling customised flight simulators for people to set up in their own homes - using whatever software they wanted.

I thought: that's amazing.

In an older post, I introduced you to the Corona Dilemma presented to the aviation industry.

It's the dilemma we face when we're presented with our 'corona event': either choosing the path of least resistance and returning to "normal" or choosing to do things differently (the only real choice we now have).

I spoke about how a concept called "20-20 Thinking" can help us rise out of the ashes, and help us to succeed. I applied this concept when discussing how you can re-ignite your aviation career both during and after COVID-19.

This A380 pilot did just that, and he's recently landed a new job as a Flight Operations Coordinator.

So let's go one step further - how to see the world (and the whole aviation industry) differently: as an opportunity.

Creating our Next Normal

If we want to create our next normal in aviation, we must make the right decisions.

And to make the right decisions, business leaders need to think about the way they think - they need to think about their paradigm.

The concept of a 'paradigm' is simple: it's the way an individual perceives the world - culminated by what we know, what we've experienced and what we believe.

For those of us who have experienced a "Corona Event” and taken on the challenge of the Corona Dilemma, we've reassessed our values, beliefs and the things in life that really matter.

That will change our core values, leading to a paradigm shift.

The exact same can happen for organisations like airlines.

Example: ValuJet and Aviation Safety

Aviation safety, as we all know, is paramount to running a successful airline.

When ValuJet first started, it was a "no-frills" airline: a fast growing airline, but it had a terrible attitude towards safety. Awful training. Questionable payment practices. Cheap, subcontracted 'blind-eye' maintenance.

On 11 May 1996, ValuJet Flight 592 crashed into the Everglades. All 110 people onboard died. Come November, the airline had lost $55 million.

The new CEO, Joseph Corr, set about rapidly changing the airline's culture - starting with stripping the name ValuJet and creating "AirTran Airways" (which was later acquired by Southwest Airlines in 2014).

AirTran decided to implement a genuine commitment to safety, and it saw profits again in only a year.

Seeing the World Differently: Look at the Cockpit

As I say in my new book The Corona Dilemma: 20-20 Thinking for the Next Normal:

Change must be driven from the very top of an organization for it to be absorbed by every employee. For over 8,000 employees, aviation safety [at AirTran] had become their individual responsibility. As with personal paradigms, corporate culture is an incredibly powerful force.

In order to change a corporate culture, which I talk more about here, you need to start looking at the world differently.

Let's look at an example in the cockpit. Let's look at two pilots, each flying a small aircraft:

One is flying relying solely on instruments. She is trained to condition herself not to believe things are always the way they seem or feel.

The other is relying on visual flight rules (VFR). He's looking for visual features. He thinks he is flying straight when, actually, he may be descending.

Both pilots enter cloud. The VFR pilot desperately searches for a visual horizon that doesn't exist. He loses all sense of situational awareness, and loses control of the aircraft. The instruments pilot, by contrast, is fine relying on instruments.

Both pilots faced exactly the same reality - but their view of the world was completely different.

Ok, so how do we change the way we think?

How do you - and, more importantly, how does a massive airline - rid itself of a lifetime of thinking in the same way?

The answer is: embrace creativity.

You don't need to be Steve Jobs or Elon Musk to do this.

Take a look at how some travel companies are choosing the alternate path and seizing opportunities out of crisis:

• Delta Airlines created a Global Cleanliness team, stopped selling middle seats, permanently waived change fees for U.S. domestic travel and found itself listed as one of Fast Company’s list of Most Innovative Companies.
• San Francisco International Airport is completing a $2.4 billion renovation, creating brand new environmentally friendly and human-centric spaces. There's interactive kids zones, neat art galleries - all in their newly renovated Harvey Milk Terminal 1.
• AirBnB, while having a shaky start in the beginning of COVID-19 (and sacking a quarter of its staff), they provided some creative options to get their hosts back on track - including creating the 'virtual' travel experience.

Most airlines around the world are doing the same thing through this pandemic - cancelling flights and alienating their customers. Why not change the way you think and do something different?

Like - start a new airline?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: just look at the brand new startup airlines coming into the market this year. It never ceases to amaze me.

I hate to quote from my own book (do I?) but, this is the secret to eternal youth:

Regather your kindergarten crayons, throw away your high school education and societal indoctrinations, and start re-thinking the way you thought when you were a child, from the perspective and advantage of having amassed a treasure trove of life's experiences.

That's how you start thinking creatively.

That's how you'll never get old.

That's great - but how do we make the right decisions?

In aviation, decisions we make save lives.

A few months ago, Southwest Airlines made a massive decision: the decision to start flying the Boeing 737 MAX.

They made this decision after the FAA rescinded its no-fly order for two versions of the 737 MAX.

Southwest leaders announced their faith in the aircraft, and the CEO even said he would fly them himself personally before passengers did.

Southwest's President boldly said:

"We bought the 737 MAX 8, and we're proud of the 737 MAX 8 ... I think our customers are smart ... [W]e don't intend to change the name".

When making a big decision, follow these five steps:

1. Step back and create a time-space oasis - find out the right time to make the decision you need to make (for Southwest, it was after the no-fly order was rescinded);
2. Identify the hazards - think about the ramifications of the decision;
3. Assess the risks - can you deal with those ramifications? What is the risk of not making the decision, and can you deal with those?;
4. Make the decision - the hardest step of all. Just, when you do it, make sure you're in the right state of mind to make a rational decision; and
5. Stand by the decision - especially if it's one you can't reverse (Southwest appears to have stood by their decision; agreeing to purchase 100 of the smallest 737 MAX model).

If you've made a mistake in your decision, that's completely fine. Just acknowledge you've made one, and change your mind.

So, where to next?

I discuss these concepts in further depth in my new book, The Corona Dilemma: 20-20 Thinking for the Next Normal.

If we can start looking at the world (and aviation) differently, it's only then we can start seizing the opportunities that COVID-19 has presented.

You can purchase my book and read Chapter 1 for free at www.thecoronadilemma.com.