Can you imagine a timid, barely audible voice at the back of a brainstorming session at Boeing suggesting, “Let’s build a plastic airplane.” Wouldn’t the mere mention of such a whacky notion stir a loud outburst from many leaders?

“That’s ridiculous. No respectable aerospace company would use anything but sheet metal.”

“Sure, and make the skill sets obsolete for every employee in engineering, manufacturing and fabrication.”

But there were at least a few who thought, “Maybe this guy’s onto something.”

Boeing's Dreamliner

Of course over at Airbus, their brainstorming session came up with something much more reasonable. “We need a larger airplane to carry the growing numbers of people in the Middle East and Asia who can now afford to travel.  Everyone on board with that?”

Twenty years ago, when companies didn’t recognize innovation as the lifeblood of sustainability to the extent they do now, growth came at the ease of new and improved. Today, it often demands a step change; a disruption.

Airplanes take years to design, build, test and bring to market.  Boeing leaders needed courage nearly 10 years in advance to pursue an idea that wasn’t just outside the box; it was outside the company and the airline industry.

Their pursuit of a step change presented many opportunities to just give up.  Here’s the lesson for leader teachers: Courageous leaders need to teach the fearful:

• to release strangleholds on past victories,
• gain humility to welcome the views of contrarians,
• create a new lens with which to inspect this changing world.

Yes, Boeing made the skill sets of many employees trained to work with sheet metal obsolete.  They found a nearby University with programs and faculty who could teach working with composites (plastics) and partnered with them to retrain people.

Yes, suppliers were overwhelmed in trying to adapt to the new design.  Boeing leaders revised schedules, and worked hard to more closely coordinate activities of their network of partners around the world.

Leaders faced parts shortages, improperly installed fasteners, striking machinists and other unexpected occurrences that embarrassingly poked holes in deadline upon deadline.

In January of this year, the Boeing Dreamliner hit a major milestone when it passed a number of airworthiness tests.  Today, it is the fastest selling wide-bodied aircraft ever, for an aircraft still in design stage.

The Boeing story is not as simplistic as I make it sound.  Then again, the move against inertia only requires listening for whacky ideas and having the courage to give them a chance to live.

Be Sociable, Share!

•