Problem Solving...A fine example

Had Aaron Spelling been alive today, he probably would not have liked this news about flight engines shutting down TEMPORARILY in violent weather conditions. I have highlighted the temporary in caps lest some of us suffer from a full fledged panic attack.

Having said that though, I want to bring to light the effective way in which the various agencies have worked together to investigate the issue, respond in a timely manner and mitigate the risks along the way. The FAA, NTSB, engine manufacturers, and the airlines and of course the pilots all readily shared information.

The result is that FAA is issuing new flight procedures. The Safety Board issued recommendations. FAA has more stringent standards for newly designed engines to mitigate the risk of a mid-air shut down of the engines because of icing. Safety bulletins were released and engine-control software has been revised.

It seems that there are a few lessons here for the other industries in turmoil.

1. These would be to engage stakeholders in a timely, mutual and consensual manner. There was a sign at the door that said, ‘Check your egos at the door’. Inside the conference room, the sign said, ‘The Problem is the Focus, Not You’.

2. Keep the Number One priority the Number One priority. It was passenger safety.

3. The ‘Blame Game’ was not in effect. The party was strictly 'Problem Solving’ and if you couldn’t contribute, you were not invited to the party because of your title. Notice how the CEOs didn't create headlines with misinformation while the real technical experts went about solving the problem.

4. Even though the nature of the problem was unknown to begin with, we didn’t see people running around like headless chicken propounding mindless theories and creating panic driven disasters.

5. The best lesson here was that the active participants, namely the pilots, were actually interviewed for their version of what happened. That was also what tipped off the technical experts to the nature of the problem. Sometimes, it is best to interview those having to deal with the problem directly instead of letting a committee attempt to solve the problem in an ivory tower.