Why Engaging Auto Pilot Gear Could Be the Best Life Strategy Particularly For Graduating Students
It is yet another season of graduation ceremonies for both our public and private universities. Indeed, it is the height of academic excellence that is worth every celebration effort, by the affected graduates. That is after successively completing 8 years in primary school, 4 years in secondary school and 4 more years at the university. Obviously, some spend more years depending on the disciplines pursued. Nonetheless, as the graduates mark the climax of schooling, they need to realize that it is just the beginning of another life, which could most probably be more challenging than that already being celebrated.
And as has become a tradition, let me share a few tips that could be helpful to the excited graduates. The same are related to a talk titled “Quality Starts with You,” that I last week Saturday, shared with some graduating students of International Business Administration, United States International University (USIU), Nairobi. The audience was students of Total Quality Management Course, who understandably needed to comprehend the linkages between Quality and Consultancy. Upon invitation, I initially had no idea of what to say. But, after careful reflection, I came up with a thought emanating from real life experiences.
Thus, (narrating my story), before 9/11 (September 2001 when the world trade centre was reduced to rubble), I used to travel many times to and from the Middle East. One time, I was on my way back home on a Kenya Airways flight. Alongside, I came into contact with the flight captain who had taken a break from the cockpit.
By coincidence, we knew one another having been meeting frequently in social circles. So, after exchanging pleasantries, the captain invited me for a tour of the cockpit. Those days, nothing could bar anybody from accessing the cockpit. It is no wonder then that plane hijacking was quite a popular strategy of terrorists of those days. Today, there is no access to the cockpit whatsoever. In fact, any pilot allowing passengers to the cockpit, can only do so at the risk of losing the flying license.
Meanwhile, I promptly agreed to the invitation and there I was admiring the numerous gadgets at the disposal of the captain and his colleague. But somehow, I noticed something quite unusual in the cockpit. There were numerous blinking red signals displayed on the ‘dashboard.’ They obviously aroused my attention, which led to seeking an explanation from the captain. Surprisingly though, the guy brushed the concerns aside, casually intimating that the blinking was an indicator of the faults in the plane. When I pressed him for more, the captain joked; “there is no cause for alarm. In fact, we are aware of the faults but, expect to fly safely to Nairobi.”
The remaining part of the 4 hour flight was torture for me. I could not help continually thinking of the blinking red signs. Long after arrival back home, I subconsciously developed flying phobia. I was no longer enthusiastic on flying missions. Nevertheless, the self imposed ban was not sustainable. At some stage, I had to inevitably fly out. But before then, I sought to understand more about flying, thus carrying out in-depth research, which yielded some very interesting results.
Firstly, large planes fly at very high altitudes, mostly at more than 10 km above sea level – details that I was earlier unconcerned about. (Actually, most of them could overfly Mt Kenya which is 6km above sea level). Then, the role of the pilot is to largely make the plane airborne and then put it on autopilot, until it is about to land. While on autopilot, the plane cruises at a constant speed (largely from 800 – 1000 km per hour).
Further, the flight path for each plane is well defined, such that the distance between one and another is only about 100 meters from either side, as well as bottom and above. In other words, they are arranged like moving racks while in the air. Incidentally, it is said that only 10 % of the global airplanes are on the ground at any time, the rest being airborne, therefore justifying the arrangement.
Secondly, when an airplane is on auto-pilot, it sticks to its route, but it is normally disoriented by air turbulences, especially during stormy weather. Nonetheless, the autopilot always brings the plane back on course. All these maneuvers and incidences are continually recorded during the flight. Actually, they are the source of the red blinking signs that the pilot had failed to explain to me those days.
In the meantime, all the graduates like my Total Quality Management audience have started another journey in life, after about sixteen years schooling. It will most likely be a life full of joy and turbulences at the same time. The experiences could however be made more bearable, if not interesting. That may happen upon engaging the right gears. In that light, it makes sense to be clear on one’s purpose in life at this early stage.
That becomes the mission that will be broken down into visions or short and medium term aspirations. The same will be more meaningful if respective goals and objectives that will largely be driven by personal strengths, rather than weaknesses are formulated. It is best to ensure that the mission and respective goals inspire and derive sustainable passion at the same time. That is so because it will be possible to effortlessly and consistently deliver value to the market place. In turn, the market will constantly be looking forward to enjoyment of quality solutions.
When all those attributes and perspectives are combined with personal guiding values, the auto-pilot gear becomes complete. It is now possible to soldier on in life with the right focus. Ideally, this personal auto-pilot gear will always be at hand, to straighten the path in the event of any turbulence. How about immediately engaging this invaluable gear, thus being the first to embrace quality? Only then is it possible to preach and drink wine as advocated by quality management concepts.