The Weekly Reflektion 12/2025
Welcome to Reflekt’s Breakfast Seminar, Wednesday 26th March 2025 0800 to 1000 at the Quality Pond Hotel in Forus.
The main theme for Havtil in 2025 is Artificial Intelligence is also a risk factor. This theme and the depiction of the ‘black box’ in the Havtil film is the inspiration for our next breakfast seminar.
‘The black box’, can it be trusted?
Contact graeme.dick@reflekt.as, mike.pollard@reflekt.as, or post@reflekt.as if you would like to attend.
More details on our website www.reflekt.as
Breakfast will be served at 0730.
The tone of the company comes from the top. The senior management is responsible, and the tone sets the standards and determines how the company culture will develop. People that do not agree, either leave, adapt to the situation, or exist in a state of bad conscience and continuous conflict. Hopefully when the company is on the wrong track the management realises this and changes the tone. Unfortunately, it is often a Major Accident that forces a change, but then it is too late.
What defines you as company or person?
This is a historical depiction of a measurement of safety in a major corporation. Which corporation and why the change occurred will be revealed.
George Bernard Shaw or Iman Ali Ibn Abu Talib are both attributed with the following quote, ‘Two things define you: Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything.’ Determination in the face of having nothing and fighting for the right to exist, yet having patience, is admirable. Humility in the recognition that you have what you need and more, and being willing to give and help the less fortunate is also admirable. Having ‘everything’ and sacrificing the safety, health and welfare of others to accumulate more is despicable.
In our Reflektions in weeks 29, 30 and 31 in 2022 we covered the 737 Max disasters and the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 in 2019. 346 people lost their lives. In the Reflektion in week 31 we described the cultural development in Boeing following the merger with McDonnel Douglas that led to both a significant increase in the share price and a significant decrease in the safety standards. The tone at the top was the driving factor.
Boeing’s Purpose Statement in 2018 was:
‘Our purpose and mission is to connect, protect, explore, and inspire the world through aerospace innovation. We aspire to be the best in aerospace and an enduring global industrial champion’.
Boeing’s Purpose Statement (Post 737 Max disasters) was changed to:
‘Boeing’s mission is to protect, connect and explore our world and beyond. Every day, we are dedicated to carrying out our mission – safely and sustainably. With revitalized spirit and an unwavering commitment to transparency in all we do, we are transforming to be a better, stronger Boeing, propelled by the spirit of innovation that has been our hallmark for more than a century.’
Safety, sustainability and transparency feature prominently in the revised mission statement. Hopefully the change in the tone from the top will lead to improvements that will never let another disaster, like the 737 Max crashes, happen again.
Returning to the figure above. The graph shows the number of occurrences of the term ‘safety’ in the Boeing annual report. Maybe if the management says it enough it will become embedded in the organisation, although we know from experience that it takes more than just talk to make a difference.