when you try to run a perfect checklist in the cockpit, you always miss an item. The good news is the other pilot is going to catch that error. Both of you are looking out for each other because if things take a fatal turn, both of your million-dollar fannies are going to be at risk.” It’s the same for a business. Business Networks teaches that checklists, goals, and constant reevaluation are necessary to keep an entrepreneur on track, and transparency with a network of peers and employees is essential to minimize risk. Drawing another parallel, Les recalled his first time trying what pilots call a “zero/ zero landing” — a blind landing where it’s impossible to see the runway — in a flight simulator as a young pilot. “You can’t see the runway, so you’re relying totally on instruments,” he remembers. “The first time they put me in the simulator to do that, I cut the controls off and started landing the plane myself. The instructor said, ‘What are you doing?’ and I said, ‘I’m landing the airplane.’ When they said, ‘No, no, no, electronically it will do that itself,” I replied, ‘Well, I need to stay in the loop because if I don’t do that, I won’t know what is going on.’” Entrepreneurs face this same struggle when it comes to stepping back and giving up a portion of control in their businesses. What they need to do, Les implies, is find the kind of happy medium he eventually did with the simulator, which entailed keeping a close eye on the automatic controls so he could jump in if something went wrong. “You need to closely monitor [your team] without micromanaging, which I have to admit is difficult. But that way, no one can put you in a bad spot,” Les says. To take a step toward solving that particular problem, Business Networks started holding special meetings for
entrepreneurs where they could bring staff members along. For example, one session might be just for business owners and their bookkeepers, or business owners and their account managers. This model lets the staff get direct role-to-role feedback just like the entrepreneurs, set goals, and identify areas where they need to improve. In Les’ view, this is particularly vital because he advocates for transparency within companies as well as between noncompeting industry partners. If everyone in the company is aware of the company’s numbers, metrics, and goals, they can work toward them together. As an added benefit, an employee who is able to monitor their company’s numbers will know if they’re pulling their weight or if they need to step up their efforts. “The most important thing they need are structures, systems, and software so that entrepreneurs can monitor what’s going on at any time. Not only can they monitor it, but the other employees in the company can monitor it, too,” Les says. The leadership and sales strategies Sandler Training teaches work hand- in-glove with Business Networks’ approach. For the last 30 years, Les has
you where your weaknesses are and where your strengths are. Then if you’re weak in a certain area, you can look at somebody else in the group who’s strong in that area and figure out what you have to do. Indeed, they’ll help you because you’re not a competitor!” his years as a pilot. He sees dozens of parallels between a pilot’s duties and procedures in the cockpit, and an entrepreneur’s best-practices on the ground. A large part of that is his passion for checklists, which he advocates for entrepreneurs. “When you’re flying a commercial jet, you’re always going through a checklist,” Les says. “For example, there’s a Before Starting Engine checklist, a Starting Engine checklist, an After Starting Engine checklist, a Before Taxi checklist, a Taxi checklist, a Before Takeoff checklist, and a Takeoff checklist — and that’s all before you’re even off the ground! The thing is, Much of what Business Networks teaches is based on lessons Les learned during
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