Everyone I know is trying to understand our new reality in the face of COVID-19. I suspect that my parents and those of their generation have a reference point from WW2, when everything seemingly changed overnight. Immediately, there were new ways of living, working, consuming, just being. That does not mean everyone got used to it overnight.
So many of my thoughts this week have been focused on the realities of Small Business owners, facing decisions to suspend operations, go takeout only, spread out the dining room, coordinate virtual work arrangements. Each business will have its own set of answers for individual situations. Somewhere along the way, as I looked for COVID-19 news, I saw a clip online of Kobe Bryant performing in the clutch. I began to think about the helicopter crash that claimed his life and the lives of every passenger on that doomed flight.
I am not sure if a final report has been issued on the cause of the crash. I do recall hearing that the helicopter was traveling at cruising speed when it hit the hillside, so engine failure was ruled out. Because of the foggy conditions in which they were flying, one theory that received a lot of attention was pilot spatial disorientation.
SKYbrary, an online resource for aviators, defines spatial disorientation as “the inability of a pilot to correctly interpret aircraft attitude, altitude, or airspeed in relation to Earth or other points of reference”. In case you think I have a typo there, aircraft attitude is the aircraft’s position relative to the horizon.
SKYbrary specifically addresses spatial disorientation in flight, “Being in flight means that we may be subject to motion, speed, forces, and variations in gravity (both positive and negative) which our orientation will be unfamiliar with. This can lead to a false perception of our orientation and relative movement. Spatial disorientation is more likely to occur when there is no visible horizon – on a dark night or in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC).” SKYbrary goes on to describe spatial disorientation “illusions” to which humans are susceptible in flight. One illusion confuses linear acceleration/deceleration as climbing/descending. The other is not detecting movement or perceiving movement in a different (mostly opposite) direction to reality.
My personal belief is that physical phenomena are manifest in a wide variety of intangible environments as well. That is the very foundation of Bizzics. Others may disagree, but that is my contention. Right now, I am concerned about spatial disorientation among Small Business owners, who routinely fly without the expensive instrumentation of corporate concerns: data, analytics, forecasters, expensive strategy and planning personnel, just for a start. We have lost the horizon and are subject to motion, speed, and forces with which our orientation systems are unfamiliar. Illusions are entirely possible, even likely, and can be catastrophic.
As earlier Bizzics blogs have pointed out, momentum is impossible without direction, so we obsess about direction – both in the near-term and long-term. You may have opted for a business hiatus until the horizon comes back into focus. You may still be moving, trying to navigate the best you can. Even when conditions normalize, my hunch is that conditions will be far from crystal clear.
Bizzics is here to be another set of eyes for you, no matter where you are in the process. We will challenge your thinking and strive for clarity in the dominant thoughts you are experiencing.
Saving the best for the end: we have expanded our complimentary 30 minute “get to know you” session to a full 1.5 hour complimentary coaching session for the next 30 days, ending April 18. All ZOOM meetings, so no virus worries! No cost, no obligation to do anything else, not even a pitch to do more with us. We just want you to get your bearings before making big decisions with long-lasting impact. Just visit our homepage at www.bizzics.com, and sign up for the complimentary session. We will get back with you and set up a convenient time to help.
