Expectations for 2009

Aircraft have been working on fires for several months, ably assisting ground crews and, in inaccessible areas, leading the way on containment.

For many in aviation and agriculture, continual change appears as a relentless and unnecessary grind, interfering with well laid plans, demanding constant attention that detracts from the fun of the actual job and continually lowering our expectations of what is possible.

One of AAAA’s top Convention speakers on running a successful business, Ron Tacchi, told members “to stay the same you have to change”. What Ron was getting at is that businesses – and more directly, business people – must continue to evolve just to maintain the same returns. Stagnate and you are extinct.

To turn that idea on its head, expecting a different outcome from the same inputs is also a sign of a downwards business trajectory.

If your mind has turned to expectations for your business over the coming 12 months and you expect to continue just doing the same old thing, then you should not be surprised when the same old ‘stuff’ keeps happening and your business just isn’t as prosperous as before. This is as valid on the aviation safety and regulatory fronts as it is in business development.

Change is seen by many as a threat, but it is also a great opportunity to strengthen your safety and business defences. By consciously identifying risks and opportunities you can improve company systems and performance. By not doing the same stuff the same way without question, you are building resilience into your business and changing your business trajectory.

Before that can happen you need to set aside some time for thinking and contemplation about your business, your safety and the changing environment you are working in. But where can you find the time? You’re a busy person in a demanding business with things to do.

This is really the crux of the matter – how do you find time to think about your business when you are so busy running it?

In a seasonal industry like ag or firebombing, that may be a little more manageable in the quiet times – the critical issue is that you maintain contact with a strategic level of thinking as well as the tactical thinking of day-to-day management.

For some in drought stricken areas, time to think about the business remains the least of their problems. But with a return to busy times in many areas, has the downtime in the drought been put to a good purpose?

Often the challenge is to find the starting point – the beginning of the wickedly knotted ball of string. Try identifying three simple things you can improve in your business in the next few months – and do them.

It may be as simple as finally getting around to pouring concrete for that wash down pad. It may be as simple as using the AAAA drift assessment checklist on every job. Or it might be ringing the key agronomists in your area and helping them understand what aircraft can do for them.

You may want to focus on safety – you might develop some simple procedures for those short strips you know you have; use the new annual proficiency checks required under Part 137 to reinforce safe dumping practice; buy the Google Earth Pro software to help with improved mapping and paddock risk assessment; schedule a monthly safety meeting for all staff to identify better ways of doing things.

Or you might simply set aside two days to think about your business.

Fishing is like meditation. It can help us quieten the ‘mad monkey’ side of your mind that is constantly giving directions, pressure and stress. It gives us time to regain perspective and think freshly about our business and is therefore, in my humble opinion, a legitimate thinking tool that should be used regularly. Whatever your technique, thinking time is critical to the future of your business.

Quiet time to allow your mind to develop a way forward through the myriad challenges of aviation should not be underestimated as a ‘waste’. It is often the quiet times that give you mental breathing space, allowing you to compose the questions that lead to breakthroughs.

2009 should see all of us giving ourselves more time for thinking – that is how we will develop the ideas to improve our industry. Expectations of improvement can then be matched by action and change – even if we want to stay the same.