In my presentations I impress upon people the need to look into the future to recognize Challenges and unearth opportunities. Don’t let Lock-in keep you projecting the future from the past.
A great example showed itself recently. The Chicago Tribune (see article) wrote about an emerging new jet (as in airplane) that was smaller, cheaper to buy and cheaper to operate. Now, you might say "but I don’t need a jet" and pass this article by. That is Lock-in; the decision to fly by the ariticle was created by what you do today, not what you could do tomorrow.
We all know that air travel has become grueling in recent years. Long gone are the days when flying meant you were treated well, with good service and a nice meal. Today, the airline charges for everything from pillows to potentially an aisle seat. Free meals are a thing of the past. And overworked, underpaid flight attendants struggle to keep a smile as they herd passengers, like so much cattle, onto and off the plane as fast as possible in an effort to drive up usage — and maybe someday create a profit for the lackluster industry.
And all that is after you deal with the struggle of simply getting your ticket, boarding pass, checking bags and clearing that long TSA security line (where you got to take off your belt and shoes, while tearing apart your handbag to place items in separate bins for x-ray screening.)
The whole process of air flight is simply not glamorous – not fun. In fact, it is stressful, and tedious. And for business travelers, the grief and cost have become so great that it’s harder and harder to justify those trips to customers and vendors that you know you really should make.
That’s today. Does it need to be the future? Several new firms – air taxi services – have emerged that offer flight service the way we use taxis – "Take me to there, and maybe back again." They provide the equipment, the pilots, everything to make the trip. They fly from very convenient, small airports nearer to more offices (as well as the large airports). The pre-flight screening is a comparative breeze, the stress of missing flights is gone, flexibility grows immensely, and you can get more done since you aren’t hanging around airports and struggling with the crowds.
You’ll say that sounds good, but isn’t it expensive? And that’s where the Tribune article comes in. While we weren’t watching, lots of these new taxi and charter services have brought on-line aircraft that are cheaper and more fuel efficient. They also have streamlined their business processes to make the system more efficient. The result is much lower cost to use a taxi plane than most of us imagine.
Could the future have business travelers bypassing United and American to visit customers? Maybe. And that makes this a trend worth watching, and considering. If a salesperson makes twice as many calls as her competitor, or is first on-site to deal with a customer problem by using this service it just might lead to more revenue. It could be a competitive edge. And as more people use these services processes will improve and technology will be applied, and who knows what the future opportunity will be in just 10 years?
We have to avoid defining the future by looking in the rear-view mirror. We all have a tendency to project the future off our past. We fall into the mode of extending our old Success Formulas. But, innovations appear that change the environment. And we need to be looking for them. We have to keep our eyes on the windshield if we are to identify Challenges to old ways and start looking for White Space opportunities to test new ideas.
Maybe next time you want to visit a vendor in Omaha, or a customer in Wichita, you should hit the web, find some air taxi services, and find out just what the possibilities are. And keep your eyes open for these new jets – they potentially might change our whole view of personal travel.