SPARS Blog with J. Michael Dolan | O Captain! My Captain!

According to Google, the FAA, popular belief, and Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers), many plane crashes are the result of pilot/captain error. And most of those errors fall under the category of miscalculations, miscommunications, misunderstandings, language or cultural confusion, misinterpreted flight plans or lack of experience. Just so happens, most artistic and entrepreneurial projects crash for the same reasons. This is good information to know before you launch your next project so you can hopefully avoid slamming into the side of a mountain.

If you’re the Captain of your ship, and you’re currently sailing through rough seas, perhaps you’re the one causing the project to slow or stall. Or perhaps you’re the one rushing the process because you’re anxious and impatient, or running out of resources, or can’t secure funding. Or perhaps your promotion/marketing/sales team isn’t getting your message. Or perhaps it’s time to revisit the flight plan (if there is one) and re-communicate your vision in a more direct, clear manner. Or perhaps it’s time to allow others to take the lead—or hire a consultant or coach to point the way. Or, more importantly, perhaps it’s time to let go of your need to prove something, or to be right.

Question is, as the CEO of your world, are you willing to launch a half-ass project just to “get it out there?” Or are you committed to doing everything in your power to produce a “full-ass” project that will strengthen your brand and blow away your fans & customers? Every success (or failure) stands on the shoulders of leadership.

O Captain! My Captain!
Our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack,
The prize we sought is won.
—Walt Whitman