While Waiting At The Airport

Guest post by Larry Galler -- One week after the recent announcement of heightened airport security I had to take a flight. I heard about long waits going through security so I arrived at the airport two hours before my flight. Naturally, when one arrives with plenty of time, there is no one in line but if you arrive late it seems as if everyone in the world is going somewhere that day. I whisked through security and had plenty of time to sit and observe. As much as everyone likes to complain about air travel I’m always in wonder that something as complex as an airport let alone the entire air travel industry, actually works as well as it does.

So there I was, observing a microcosm of the air travel industry. A little while after I arrived, two crewmembers arrived. Little by little, other crew arrived. They introduced themselves to each other. It was apparent that none of the crew had met each other before. Yet, as I boarded the plane, I was aware of how well they worked together as a practiced, coordinated team. Each knew what they were to do and did their jobs as professionals.

While watching the teamwork in the cabin, I thought of how this contrasted with some businesses I see where delivery of service is somewhere between adequate and chaotic. Realizing that these people work together all the time, the equation just doesn’t compute. Then I thought, perhaps it does compute.

In the airline scenario, management knows they are putting together a crew of people who, in all probability, never or rarely work together. In order to insure that passengers on every flight receive a high level of standardized service they must have systems and processes in place that a well-trained crew can fit into or chaos ensues.

In a less structured business, systems and processes are often verbal, not documented. Training is sloppy or non-existent. The business gets by because teamwork and standardized delivery of service is far less critical? until they start losing customers to a better organized, more structured competitor. In this case, it is wise to think like an airline.

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