AIReportAug12_AIReport Sept08 23/07/2012 16:36 Page 1
AIREPORT
Do You Know What You Don’t Know ? by David Wyndham he Harvard Business Review is an esteemed business publication offering a very well written Blog that covers a wide array of topics. Some of the ones that I seem to find interesting deal with Psychology and Cognitive Science. Business is nothing more than applied psychology. It involves human behavior, both as individuals and in groups. I like reading some of the science behind why we behave (management) and act (or buy = marketing). I just read two articles that, although unrelated, seemed to come together for me. The first article was titled "Do You Know What You Do n't Know?" When you really ask people, it is amazing how much we don't know. The author used an example of how does a zipper work? We all use them quite successfully, but evidently we don't all understand the mechanics of it. The same logic applies with buzz-words and jargon. "Streamlining our processes" may make sense to many, but when you ask what it really means, we differ in our opinion. Psychologists call this the illusion of explanatory depth. We think we know what we know, but we really don't have the depth of knowledge that leads to understanding. The second article was titled “When Cho o sing a Jo b, Culture Matters”. As that title suggests, the author (not a Psychologist, but a Business Professor) talks of how important it is to understand the organization's culture in order to understand how well you'd fit in as a new employee. What is the organization's purpose? How do they get things done and work together to achieve this? Both of these need to come together when evaluating aircraft for an organization. You need to understand the culture of your organization and to examine what your boss/client thinks they know about the aviation function.
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The corporate culture can be one that values innovation and efficiency. Does it focus on growing the company by getting and keeping customers? An organization exhibiting such culture might tend to value mission effectiveness of the business aircraft: Get there quickly, get home quickly. So when discussing the merits of the business aircraft with such an organization, you need to focus on how the business aircraft matches up with its culture, and how well the aircraft accomplishes the mission. However, what if the culture is one that focuses on controlling and cutting costs, and being careful with every dollar spent? The organization exhibiting this culture probably
In both instances, the company must see a value in having an aircraft. But how that value is perceived can be different. is fiscally conservative. While it may see "value" in the business aircraft, it may be much more focused on the cost, rather than mission-effectiveness. In this case, the business aircraft decision will be guided primarily by the total costs. In both instances, the company must see a value in having an aircraft. But how that value is perceived can be different. So how do you apply the logic of knowing what you d o n't know? When communiwww.AvBuyer.com
cating about the aircraft, its capabilities and costs, we need to have an understanding of the fact that we may not have all the information about the business to understand why it makes the decision that it does. Equally, it may not understand the aircraft as much as we might believe it does. So we need to do our best to explore the gaps in knowledge and be open to new concepts. Do not assume that just because the CEO had an aircraft at his/her former company they understand crew rest, maximum range and sales and use taxes on the airplane. When I work with a client regarding their options for an aircraft, or with the aviation department concerning their justification for a replacement of the current aircraft, it helps to understand not only their measurable requirements such as payload, trip length, etc., but also their culture and depth of knowledge about Business Aviation. So , ho w d o es a zip p er w o rk ? ❯ David Wyndham is an owner of Conklin & de Decker. The mission of Conklin & de Decker is to furnish the general aviation industry with objective and impartial information in the form of professionally developed and supported products and services, enabling its clients to make more informed decisions when dealing with the purchase and operation of aircraft. With over 1,800 clients in 90 countries around the world, Conklin & de Decker combines aviation experience with proven business practices. ❯ More information from www.conklindd.com; Tel: +1 508 255 5975. Do you have any questions or opinions on the above topic? Get them answered/published in World Aircraft Sales Magazine. Email feedback to: editorial@avbuyer.com Aircraft Index see Page 4