“Even without airplanes, Brussels Airlines can be a profitable business”
Interview by Geert Degrande, originally published on Re-Story.be in dutch
Today’s world is so unpredictable that organizations and their leaders need to be highly creative to adapt quickly to the changing context. The corona crisis has amplified that truth and even led to situations that are more likely to be expected in a program full of absurdities such as the award winning “What if …?” than in reality. “What if … Brussels Airlines suddenly cannot fly anymore, because all planes have to stay on the ground forever?” Instead of creating an absurd sequel, as program maker Tim Van Aelst would do, THINK with people’s Bert Van Wassenhove took up the challenge to formulate a concrete answer.
The answer may surprise many: even without aircraft, Brussels Airlines could be a healthy organization based on the talents of its employees, its own identity and what the company is already used to doing, according to Bert Van Wassenhove.
Vision as a landmark
The ever-changing context means that organizations have to move in a jungle, as it were, with dense afforestation and suddenly emerging rivers. Without a compass they will not reach the destination they have set.
“Companies need a vision as a landmark. If they know the direction they want to go, they can be agile in everyday practice and make adjustments without ending up in chaos.”
“Companies need a vision as a landmark,” says Bert Van Wassenhove. “They eventually get lost without that compass. If they know the direction they want to go, they can nevertheless be agile in everyday practice and make adjustments without ending up in chaos.
And it may sound peculiar at a time when many organizations are spending a lot of money on boot camps and brainstorming weekends and in which the website and the walls of the company building contain motivating phrases about mission and vision, but many organizations do not really have a good compass.
Too often they sail blind on a GPS that does not take blind alleys into account. And even today their vision is still far too limited to how they do things today. They have a vision that is … not visionary. That does not take into account who the people are who must give concrete shape to that vision on a daily basis.
Even if that vision indicates with great fanfare that the company is strong in “out of the box” thinking, that box remains the limiting frame of reference. ”
The golden circle
Hundreds of thousands of companies worldwide have already experienced that defining a mission and a vision and clearly communicating about it are not easy tasks. The words alone are a bit ambiguous and not clear to everyone.
Simon Sinek therefore developed his “golden circle” a number of years ago, in which he indicates that companies must start with the Why.
“It’s a plea,” says Bert, “to build businesses from the answer to the ‘Why’ question, then look at ‘How’ that company realizes that vision differently than others and then end up at ‘What’ the company delivers. In other words, the question of why companies do what they do is central.”
“The Why is the real core, the DNA, the soul and the compass of the organization that continues to show the right way even in the hardest storm.”
The power in this concept, according to Bert, is that organizations can return to their “Why” and “How” in all circumstances. “What they do exactly — whether organizing events, running restaurant , selling toys or making movies — can and must be adapted to the ever-changing context.
How they do this can still be adjusted, but the vision remains. The “Why” is the real core, the DNA, the soul and the compass of the organization that continues to show her the right way even in the hardest storm.“
The “Why” of Brussels Airlines without airplanes
In theory, of course, it is easy to speak of the “Why” as the core and compass. But realizing that in practice if the context is causing a tsunami of change, as has happened during the corona crisis, that may continue to present unexpected challenges in the coming months, seems a lot more difficult.
Airplanes will not be grounded forever. Flemish traffic minister Lydia Peeters aptly illustrated this by taking the plane to bridge the mere 40 kilometers from Brussels to Antwerp.
“But what if it happened: could an organization like Brussels Airlines survive from its” Why “by also filling in the” How “and” What “somewhat differently? I am convinced it is.
The mission now available on the Brussels Airlines website is: to be the most personal airline, bringing people together and making travel a pleasure.
That is a good start for defining a ‘Why’. If I were to receive that assignment, I would of course first talk to the people at Brussels Airlines, but here I just want to make the exercise theoretically to indicate that on the at first sight most absurd “What if …” questions are possible with concrete answers.
From the current mission, a Brussels Airlines without aircraft could define its “Why” as: “We strive for an open and inclusive world by bringing people from all over the planet together in a personal and enjoyable way.”
When asked how Brussels Airlines wants to do that, the company can formulate the following answer: “By focusing on people with an open mind who in their own way pursue our vision. Every customer deserves our undivided attention and support in discovering the world. Our specific knowledge of the African market gives us an extra competitive advantage for that continent.” The people currently employed at Brussels Airlines can fulfill this “How” after all. “
Make it profitable
From the “Why” and the “How”, according to Bert Van Wassenhove, the organization can fill in what products or services it can offer. Bert sees four activities that Brussels Airlines can make profitable without aircraft:
- Supporting companies and organizations in building a global business and in international collaboration. This with a focus on respect for cultural, economic, social and ecological aspects. For example, the organization can assist in developing an export strategy that takes into account not only the highest possible return, but also ecological and other factors.
- Optimize the interaction between companies and countries worldwide. Organizing the perfect mix between asynchronous communication (mail, chat, …), synchronous communication (audio and video conferencing) and physical travel with the optimal means of transportation. For example, by organizing meetings for international companies and organizations that cannot proceed via video in the most ecologically and economically optimal place.
- Organizing international travel for private travelers to bring them into contact with the wealth of the world in a safe, comfortable and fun way. For example, by working with partners for (electric) air travel (think of the German start-up Lilium, which focuses on the construction of small electric airplanes and in which Nico Rosberg is one of the major investors — ed.), train travel, travel by (freight)ship and other modes to ensure the optimal travel experience.
- Sharing knowledge through training in the fields of international logistics, import-export, international cooperation and more topics that can positively stimulate international relations.
“By formulating a vision that looks sharply into the future, inspires and leaves room for growth, an airline can also play a positive role in society.”
Such a total turnaround of a company is of course not easy to realize. The planes will not be gone tomorrow, and they will probably stay a long time. But by formulating a vision that looks sharply into the future, inspires and leaves room for growth, an airline can also play a positive role in society. A role that goes much further than putting as many people as possible in the cheapest flights possible.
A role that perfectly enables an airline to go combine “better for me” and “better for the world”. I am convinced that the teams in all organizations have enough creativity to make such an exercise, if needed with external guidance.
“What if …?” Is not only a good starting point to make absurd humor, but also to stimulate that creativity and to make it feel better. “
Who do you help people become
In an interview with Thomas Kolster on Re-Story.be, he indicated that we actually should go a step further than the ‘Why’: as a brand or company, he says you should ask the question who you help people become.
Bert: “When I apply Kolster’s ideas to Brussels Airlines, I can say: ‘We want people to discover that ’rich‘ should not only get a material translation, but that people can also be enriched through different cultures in many different ways.’ With the four activities for a Brussels Airlines without airplanes I defined, they could use as a slogan that it helps people to enrich themselves through contact with other cultures.”
