Emergency Procedures Required
By
Ben DiSylvester
Chairman
Recently, the nation was amazed by the outcome of US Airways Flight
1549. After birds rendered his engines powerless, Captain Chesley
Sullenberger calmly glided his plane into the Hudson River with no loss
of life.
Shortly after this incident, I read an article that listed the four
things pilots are trained to do when experiencing an emergency in
flight. They are:
I realized that there are direct
parallels with what was necessary to survive this incident and
the economic situation companies find themselves in today.
First, when the engines quit, the
pilot no doubt was startled, but he maintained control of the
aircraft. Similarly, with managers seeing sales and profits
quickly eroding, it would be understandable if they took their
eyes off of the controls. However, that is the worst thing to
do. Customers still call for service, mission-critical projects
still need to get done properly, and planning must continue,
albeit with shortened horizons for the time being.
Second, management needs to calmly
assess what is really happening in the organization. If sales
are declining, what percentage is due to decreased market demand
versus customers going elsewhere—where service, support,
products, and pricing may be better?
Third, deciding what to do is made a
bit easier if the assessment is on target. Captain “Sully” knew
his engines were rendered useless, but he was not alone in this
crisis. He was working with Air Traffic Control (ATC) to
determine if there was an alternative airport close by where he
could land safely.
Fourth, knowing there was not time
to get to an airport, he decided to land in the Hudson. Mixing
in these four steps with the appropriate level of communication
kept everything under control, averted panic among the
passengers, and contributed to the successful outcome.
No one step is more important than
the others, but they do build on one another.
Maintaining control of operations is
essential so that a bad situation does not become worse. Making
the right assessments points the way to the appropriate action.
Getting help with those assessments from a knowledgeable and
trusted advisor assures that all reasonable alternatives are
considered.
Finally, settling on the right
course of action and properly implementing it increases the
chances for success—and, most importantly, affords the
opportunity to “fly again” in the future.
