When I was a wee lad, I was interested in all things airplane. Once I took a plane trip across the country with my mother. As I looked out at the wing, staring at the terrain and clouds below, I noticed a small stream of liquid coming out of a seam in the wing, running along the edge and vaporizing into the slipstream. Cool, a fuel leak!
I excitedly asked my mom if we could call the flight attendant (“stews” in those days) and point out the fairly substantial stream of fuel. My mother, panic stricken, agreed. Shortly after, the first officer arrived to take a look. He confirmed the leak and thanked us for piping up. I was prouder than a prized pig at the county fair.
My flush of enthusiasm led me to write a glowing review of the crew and the flight on a little survey card in the seat pocket. I was amazed that the crew read them! After all, weren’t they just supposed to turn them into their management 
The result of my survey was an ice cream and a treasured trip to the cockpit to see the “front office” of the Douglas DC-10 we were on. Wow!
Certainly by now you’re asking “what’s the point” (and maybe also, where’d the bad metaphors come from). Well, many years later, having become a pilot, and having known airliners to make emergency power off landings due to loss of fuel, I realize what a big deal such things can be. Imagine, one of the most powerless, and for the most part ignorant passengers on the plane pointed out one of the potentially most important things for the flight crew to take a look at.
This happens in organizations all the time. Except in most, priorities are assessed top down, not bottom up. That’s a shame. If folks in clubs, organizations, political parties and Corporate America could really listen to the bottom up observations of the unwashed masses, important stuff can come up. In fact I think a few generalizations can be made, and they’re surprising.
- Build from the Top Down
- Decide/Design/Prioritize/Analyze from the Bottom Up
What’s behind these ideas? Well, when we build something, manufacture something or architect something, we really need a Top Down cohesive view of things. In other words, the pilots of my DC-10 needed to have a flight plan that considered all aspects of the aircraft’s operation, weather and route of flight prior to departure. That’s strategic.
When we decide to change direction, usually the environment is changing, something is not going as planned, the market has changed, there is new data, or a new analytic view of a situation. This is a Bottom Up process. Bottom Up is tactical, gritty and often surprising. There is nothing better than fresh data, fresh opinions, and seeing the whites of their eyes. Many organizations forgo this viewpoint, or do it half-heartedly, because so much whacky noisy information comes in through Bottom Up information channels.
A young boy with little knowledge of the situation or consequences could have a big impact on a multi-hundred million dollar venture one day. That boy’s message could be carried by the lowest ranking crew at the bottom of an airline food chain. Respecting the people at the bottom and the insight a view from the front lines can offer is critical for success. Otherwise, the executive suite will spend much time “breathing its own exhaust.” Or to use yet another tired metaphor, “running out of gas”.
very good post. LOVING the metaphors.
Strange Synchronicity…
I never saw Local Hero until recently. It was always on my list to see, but alas never made it to the top. I had thought just last night of letting you know I finally saw it. The movie seems somehow related. It seems that the hero is on the wrong side of this principal.
I can hear the soundtrack perfectly in my head…the sad guitar describes what it is to miss the gift of a lifetime because it arrived in the wrong package, place, time, whatever…and wasn’t recognized for what it was.
Cheers,
John