What Matters

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a pretty famous pyramid that illustrates people need to fulfill or satisfy at some level a lower layer of need before moving up to the next.

Take a moment to think about the pilot - the pyramid illustrates an interesting conclusion.

The pilot will need to satisfy the physiological (food, clothing, shelter - defined as "keeping my job and paying the mortgage") before safety. Therefore he might be motivated to do something to please the customer and keep his job at the risk of putting the aircraft in jeopardy.

Knowing this is the case, an active and involved crew will engage with the pilot's decision making to ensure that safety underlies all decisions and gets everyone home to pay the mortgage instead of the hospital and repair bills.

In Search of the Perfect Crew