In aviation, flying an airplane under normal conditions is actually not that hard. The real skill—the reason pilots spend hundreds of hours in simulators—is mastering Abnormal Procedures. As a founder, your job is similar: you need to define the "Normal Procedures" so your team can handle the day-to-day, but you must own the "Abnormal Procedures" for when the engine fails.
From "If" to "When"
One of the most striking things about a pilot's takeoff briefing is the language we use. We don't use conditional statements; we don't say, "If the engine fails, we will do this". Instead, we use the present continuous: "When the engine fails, I will apply maximum brakes... I will extinguish the fire".
This shift in mindset is vital for a startup CEO:
- Stop being reactive: Don't wait for a client to leave or a server to crash to decide your move.
- Simulate the crisis: Sit down and list everything that could possibly go wrong in your business—from an important team member quitting to a total loss of funding.
- Standardize the solution: Once you have that list, create a standard procedure for each crisis so that your team knows exactly where to look when the alarm goes off.
The CEO as the "Emergency Pilot"
As an entrepreneur, your job is to build a business that runs so well on "Normal Procedures" that you are only needed when things become "Abnormal".
- The Goal of Autonomy: Your departments should know when "handoffs" happen and who is responsible for approvals.
- The Filtered Call: Your team should be trained to only call you in an emergency that the SOPs couldn't cover.
- The Simulation Tool: You can even use AI to describe your business and ask for a list of 100 things that could go wrong. Filter that list for what is applicable to you and start answering those "engine failure" questions today.
Responsibility for the "Souls"
The reason we take these briefings so seriously is because of the 150 souls on board. Those stripes on a pilot's shoulders are heavy because they represent the weight of responsibility for human lives.
When you realize that as a founder, you are responsible for the families and careers of every person you hire, you stop treating "worst-case scenarios" as an afterthought. You brief for the failure because the cost of being unprepared is too high.
A company that only knows how to fly in clear weather will crash at the first sign of a storm. By simulating your "engine failures" and briefing your team on the "Abnormal Procedures," you ensure that even when things go wrong, you are still the Pilot in Command. Don't wait for the engine to catch fire to read the manual—write the manual today.
Fin.
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