Culture & Mindset41

Corporate Activism. Lessons for Captains of Industry from Captains of Aircraft

"Corporate Activism: Lessons for Captains of Industry from Captains of Aircraft" | Jon Foster-Pedley

Jon Foster-Pedley

February 18, 2020

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About The Presenter

Photo of Jon Foster-Pedley

About Jon Foster-Pedley

Dean & Director @Henley Business School

Dean, director, activist, speaker, educator. Founder and chair of MBAid (NGO). Founder of #CorporateActivism #NoMoreBribes #NewAfricanHeroes #FamilyFriendlyLearning, #HenleyICE, #HenleyFIRE, #HenleyEARTH (Environmental Activism through Research and Training @Henley). Driver of ‘We build the people, who build the businesses, that build Africa’. Director and designer of MBA, leadership and executive programmes. 30 years in strategy, creativity, innovation. Director of innovation centre in New Zealand. Resource at YPO Africa Ignite. Also ex-airline captain, senior executive in the European aerospace industry, aerobatics competitor, flight examiner and instructor.

Presentation Slides

Video Transcript

Thank you very much. It’s really cool to be here. I wasn’t sure what the Business Agility Conference would be like, but I’ve heard great reports. I see many familiar faces, so well done to Miles and the team. I think it’s a brilliant initiative. I hope we can collaborate on a Henley-Miles agility program. Miles, can I commit you to this in public before we start? Thank you!

Understanding Economic Transformation

To set the context, I’d like to discuss agility, creativity, and innovation in economies. Let’s start with Japan. Looking at its exports in 2017, we see a diverse, modern economy with multiple strong sectors—ICT, machinery, automobiles, chemicals, and integrated circuits. Japan has few raw materials, yet it has built a resilient and successful economy.

Now, compare this with Vietnam in 1995. At that time, its economy was primarily based on coffee, petroleum oils, leather footwear, and natural rubber—limited and basic sectors. Fast forward 20 years, and Vietnam has transformed. The economy has diversified, moving beyond raw materials to a more complex structure with multiple sectors and capabilities.

Now, let’s look at South Africa. Twenty years ago, the economy was dominated by gold, coal, and ferroalloys—mostly extraction-based industries. Have we seen radical transformation in the past two decades? Not as much as we need. Compare that to Rwanda, which has undergone a significant shift.

The Role of Agile Thinking in Economic Growth

What you’re doing here—working with agility—is not just about IT or corporate efficiency. You are leading a way of thinking that is critical to transforming the economy. To build a resilient economy, we need new sectors, new ways of thinking, and new skills. That means breaking free from the past, being brave, imaginative, and agile.

In South Africa, we often confuse education with intelligence. Just because someone is educated doesn’t mean they’re intelligent, and vice versa. Our MBA programs, which are internationally accredited, assess students blind against global peers. Our students perform as well as, if not better than, students from China, Malaysia, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the UK. Yet, many are surprised by this. This stems from the lingering effects of apartheid and colonialism—systems that made people feel they had to prove they were "good enough." The truth is, South Africa has all the intelligence and talent it needs; it’s just locked away in poverty and lack of opportunity.

If we want to build an economy like Vietnam’s transformation, we need to work differently. Agile thinking—working in continual beta, allowing for rapid innovation, and unlocking people’s potential—is the key. You are at the forefront of this change.

Black Box Thinking and Learning from Failure

As a former pilot, I want to share insights on learning from failure. Matthew Syed’s book Black Box Thinking explores why some industries learn from mistakes better than others. Aviation is one of the safest industries because every mistake is analyzed in detail, and improvements are made.

On average, 410 people die in aircraft crashes per year—one fatal crash in 2.5 million flights. Compare that with the medical field in the U.S., where 400,000 preventable deaths occur annually due to medical errors. That’s the equivalent of two 747s falling out of the sky every day.

Why does aviation have such a strong learning culture? Because of transparency and peer review. When I was flying in New Zealand, I made a minor mistake during mountain flying. A week later, at a pilots' debriefing, I was called out publicly by another pilot. It was embarrassing, but that level of transparency ensured I never made the same mistake again. Aviation relies on self-managed, peer-reviewed systems—something many organizations could learn from.

The Importance of Marginal Gains

Learning is a series of decreasing mistakes. If a child gives up after falling once while learning to walk, they never walk. The same applies to professional skills. In aviation, business, and sports—continuous improvement comes from small, consistent gains.

Look at David Beckham. He didn’t become a free-kick expert overnight. He spent hours every day practicing in a small park with his dad, making tiny adjustments until he mastered his technique. Marginal gains—those 1% improvements—lead to extraordinary results.

When an airplane crashes, investigators analyze every detail using the black box. They don’t assign blame; they look for contributing factors and ways to improve. Organizations should adopt the same mindset—depersonalizing mistakes, collecting data objectively, and focusing on continual improvement.

The Power of a Growth Mindset

Lewis Hamilton’s team exemplifies this mindset. After winning a championship, they don’t celebrate immediately. Instead, they go straight into a debrief, analyzing what could have been done better. This mindset of "permanent skepticism" isn’t cynicism—it’s the drive to continuously improve.

In aviation, pilots are trained in situational awareness. The most dangerous aircraft is the one that doesn’t appear to move relative to you—it’s coming straight at you. That’s why pilots are taught scanning techniques to spot threats. Similarly, in business, if we become too fixated on one goal, we lose sight of the bigger picture.

Reducing Power Distance and Encouraging Open Communication

A major cause of failures in both aviation and business is excessive power distance. One tragic example is the crash of a British Airways flight where the co-pilot was too intimidated to override the captain, who was having a heart attack. The entire aviation industry changed because of that. Now, co-pilots are trained to challenge their captains when necessary. The same principle applies in agile teams—open, fast communication is critical.

Scrum, agile methodologies, and business agility aren’t just about processes—they're about changing power dynamics to enable better decision-making. Medicine, for example, still has a high power distance, which contributes to errors. By fostering open communication, agile methods can transform industries.

Final Thoughts

The methodologies you are using aren’t just improving your businesses—they have the potential to transform economies. The ability to adapt, innovate, and think differently is what will drive growth and resilience. South Africa needs this kind of thinking, and you are at the forefront of making it happen.

Thank you, and keep up the great work.

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