Page 41 - Never Fly Solo

14 | NEVER FLY SOLO
pilots would close their eyes while chair flying and later
reported feeling as though they were moving through the air.
The mind has a way of preparing the body for everything, if
we only allow it to.
You probably remember Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sul-
lenberger and his crew on US Airways Flight 1549. On Janu-
ary 15, 2009, Sullenberger’s Airbus A320 lost power in both
engines after hitting a flock of birds on takeoff from LaGuar-
dia Airport. Rapidly losing altitude and unable to reach an
airport, Sullenberger took the only emergency runway avail-
able: the Hudson River. Cool and confident, Sully executed a
plan. He and his crew knew exactly what to do, and his expe-
rience and skill, along with the teamwork of his wingmen, got
that aircraft landed in the frigid waters. All 154 passengers
survived.
Sully “chair flew” this mission dozens of times, and so did
his crew. Their sweat and sacrifice before the emergency
allowed them to execute with skill and confidence and save
every passenger. Lives were transformed, and although the
crew considered it all in a day’s work, to everyone else they
were heroes.
I’m sure there have been times at work when you felt as
though you were landing a full plane on the Hudson with no
engines. We’ve all been there. And the way you respond in a
crisis can have profound lasting effects on your career and
your organization. How many people have responded inap-
propriately to high-pressure circumstances and lost their job,
reputation, partner, or investment? When the heat is on, the
pressures of business can tempt us to make a rash decision
that hurts the entire team. The sudden potential of a serious
loss, or the opportunity to grab a quick buck, triggers an
impulse decision, whether out of fear or self-interest or both,