The surprising fluffy center of the Boeing disaster

In the 2010s AirBus came out with a mega-leap forward in commercial aviation. By modernizing their a320 platform they could equip it with efficient engines and a computer system that made it easy to fly.

The resulting savings from lower fuel costs and cheaper pilot training would be a huge win for the industry.

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But not for industry leader Boeing.

Boeing was still milking their cash cow (the 737). But this new threat to their position as industry leader couldn't be ignored.

The Boeing engineering team knew the ancient 737 platform couldn't support the new technology (as in it physically didn't work). They needed a new, modern platform to compete with AirBus.

And that means MAJOR costs.

But there's a problem...

The costs and time to develop a new platform would mean losing out big time to AirBus. And the Boeing leadership simply couldn't stand for it.

So instead, they ordered their engineers to retro-fit the 737 anyway, creating the "Max" models. To make it work, they had to make some serious compromises.

And sadly, hundreds of passengers paid the ultimate price when their 737 Max model airplanes crashed in two separate incidents.

Here's what's interesting...

You can trace the poor leadership practices that resulted in this terrible fate (plus ongoing incidents still occurring) back to 1997.

At the time, AirBus was starting to win new business on Boeing's home turf. So Boeing, in an effort to muscle them out, purchased McDonnel Douglas (maker of the DC-9).

Boeing has a long history of being an engineer's company. They solved problems. They took pride in what they built. They loved aviation.

McDonnel Douglas has a long history of generating cash. They made profits. They took pride in quarterly reports. They loved money.

When they merged they kept the Boeing name, but it the Douglas leadership. And a new culture took hold of Boeing...

Now they were focused on profits above all else. Corners were cut. Innovations were "too expensive." They sacrificed everything to make their bottom line look good to enrich the shareholders and management.

This is what "milking your cash cow" looks like by the way...

So when AirBus released a modern aircraft, Boeing was decades behind and had no hope of catching up. The compromises ordered from leadership cost human lives and put all our safety at risk (anyone see that wheel fall off after takeoff recently???).

What can you learn from this mega-corp?

This all comes down to culture.

Focus your culture on serving customers, you'll wind up with a Zappos.

Focus your culture on ruthless profits, you'll wind up with Wall Street.

Focus your culture on learning and innovation, you'll wind up with Apple.

Yes, culture is a super fluffy concept. And I agree you can waste a lot of time trying to define it properly.

But you shouldn't ignore it.

Whether you know it or not, there is a culture in your organization right now. Paying attention to it is one of the keys to results through others.

To your growth,

Deacon Bradley

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