Taking Flight: How Entrepreneurs Think Like Pilots

Entrepreneurship is a journey filled with unknowns and uncertainties. Lack of experience, expertise and resources make entrepreneurship one of the riskiest endeavors you can embark on. The reality is that starting a business is an unlikely chance of success and even for those with talent and experience, getting started on the right path is often a mysterious challenge.

Successful entrepreneurs know how to think like pilots. Pilots in the air must make decisions based on facts from the environment around them, and management of onboard technical systems. In addition, they are aware of all the rules and regulations for flying and landing safely.

Like a pilot, an entrepreneur does not only need to know the basic principles and theories of any business but also he/she needs to “really think” in order to be successful. That means having the knowledge and skill set to turn an idea into an opportunity. It requires imagination, out-of-the box thinking and vision. Slogans and mantras need to be accompanied by hard research and methodologies that foster consistency, accountability, and responsibility.

An entrepreneur should be able to contextualize their learning environment and draw on any applicable strategy or principle. Like completing a puzzle made up of pieces shuffled and reorganized, the entrepreneur seeks to create pieces that fit together in a new order. It takes commitment and thought for entrepreneurs to connect the dots as opportunities present themselves. The journey of entrepreneurship is like that of a pilot who must adjust course as the sky changes and conditions evolve.

While pilots need to fixate on the destination, entrepreneurs focus on the journey. Aspiring business owners should be prepared to constantly encounter new obstacles, problems, ideas and procedures as they pursue their passion. Rather than dreading the hard times, they should take these as learning experiences and adjust their aerial pursuits accordingly. Pilots learn to expect the unexpected, same as entrepreneurs. Should an engine fail, a pilot puts his training and experience and plan into action. Likewise, when a company’s marketing scheme fails to land the desired investors, the entrepreneur must recalibrate and test new strategies.

Entrepreneurship demands the willingness to take risks and the courage to face failure, and the rewards are there for those that endure and overcome. With persistence and perspective, pilots and entrepreneurs navigate the precarious airspace of business to find fruitful objectives, with the capacity to go beyond limits and mediocrity.