“Corporate sharks swim differently from real ones.”
Sharks are nature’s oldest predators, but as long as you know how they operate, the danger decreases dramatically! I’ve talked about how my family and I had the good fortune to visit Florida many times. One of the places we would go frequently was Typhoon Lagoon, a water park in the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. My children loved the slides and wave machine, which pretty much generated mini tsunamis. I, on the other hand, always preferred something more laid back. The two favourites were the lazy river, where I would get in a rubber ring, and a gentle current would take me around the entire park. I would often spend a good hour in here, and, since there were no smartphones and I wouldn’t have my mobile with me, I could often remain undisturbed until my children found me. Which they always eventually did! My other favourite attraction, which I don’t think exists in the park now, was an enormous aquarium with a mock-up shipwreck inside. You could walk into the capsized ship and look at all the sea life through viewing windows. If you felt brave enough, you could also go snorkelling in the tank and swim with the sharks. This was normally far more relaxing than it sounds. But there was one occasion where I had to question the safety of this activity!
I think it was back in 02, on a blistering, humid, sunny day in Florida. We were at Typhoon Lagoon, and I fancied swimming with the sharks. My family didn’t want to join, but my kids did want to watch from the shipwreck, so we all walked across the park. We reached Shark Reef, and I got into the tank whilst my family watched from a footbridge above. There were about a dozen of us in the tank, and the lifeguard issued us our buoyancy jackets and masks with snorkels attached. The lifeguard goes through all the safety drills, then asks us to wait a moment while they finish feeding the sharks. At this point, a concerned look spreads across the group as we all look into the centre of the tank we are about to enter and notice a large, thrashing ball, swirling all the water. I put my mask on and dipped my face under the water. The good news was that there were no leaks and my mask fitted perfectly; the bad news was that I was watching a large shiver of sharks in the midst of a heated feeding frenzy. Now, obviously, I know these were no great whites, but watching a ball of sharks tear these fish to shreds was very disconcerting indeed! My son, watching fromthe bridge, shouted words of encouragement such as, ‘Wow, look at those sharks tearing those fish up!’
Once the frenzy had subsided, our lifeguard gave us the thumbs-up and floated backwards in front of us. This gave me some comfort knowing that at least she may be eaten before me. From the platform, I submerged my face, lifted my legs off the ground and started to float into the tank. Below me, the platform ended, and all I could see were beautiful coral reefs, tropical fish and of course, what I’m hoping are very well-fed sharks. In the centre of the tank, there is a flat-topped rock where another lifeguard is standing, used to take a break if needed. I was having a great time until my snorkel suddenly came apart, right as I gulped air. Cold saltwater went straight into my lungs, and I started spluttering and coughing.
‘Are you okay, sir?!’ the lifeguard asked in that laid-back Orlando drawl.
“No! I splutter through breaths, “I’m drowning!”
At this point, all I can hear is my son pissing himself with laughter at my expense, and he shouts, ‘Mum, Dad’s drowning! Get the camera!’
The lifeguard floats towards me, ‘Would you like some help, sir?’
“Well, if you’re not too busy! I wouldnae mind!”
She grabs my float and pulls me gently onto the flat rock until I find my feet. I take my mask off, and they sort my snorkel out while my body tries to remember how to breathe air!
I was reminded of this story the other day, and it made me chuckle, but then I started thinking about all the other sharks I have met in the corporate world and wanted to share my thoughts on how best to navigate such tricky, treacherous waters. Whilst I was delivering a new Airbus aircraft, my inspectors told me about a problem with one of the engines. We gave it thorough testing with a borescope. From the results, we both regarded this as a very serious problem and requested that the number 1 engine be replaced. 30 minutes later, I got a phone call from the senior management of the engine manufacturer telling me that there was nothing wrong with the engine and were offended that I had requested a replacement!
‘Well, if you like the engine so much. Why don’t you keep it, and give me a brand new one!? I will not be accepting the engine on this aircraft!’ I stated calmly. They promptly hung up, such professionals! About an hour later, I get a call from my boss, ‘You need to accept that aircraft and the engine as there is clearly nothing wrong with it!’
I couldnt believe what I was hearing and knew that he had obviously had a call from the same manufacturer before our conversation. I calmly explained what the defect was and advised him that the engine was not going to last much longer due to said defect. He insisted again that I accept it.
“Okay.” I relented. “I will accept this engine under one condition. That you send me an email confirming that you take total responsibility for this engine for the next 6 months.’
‘Yeah, I’ll do that!’ he said without a further thought, ‘accept the engine now!’
“I’ll accept it, once I have the email that you take full responsibility, not before!”
The email arrived minutes later, and once I read it several times, I contacted Airbus and confirmed the aircraft acceptance. The aircraft departed the very next day and flew to its home base in Abu Dhabi. The day after, the aircraft was put on crew training, and sure enough, the number 1 engine failed! I got a call from the CEO, berating me and demanding to know why I was stupid enough to accept this aircraft and defective engine.
I replied very calmly, with a little too much of a grin, “Are you sitting close to your computer?” I asked.
‘Yes, I am!’ he barked.
I sent him a copy of the email I had requested from my boss. There was a long pause on the phone before the CEO spoke, ‘You clever bastard, David! Guess who I am going to call next!’
“Enjoy the conversation! Have a lovely afternoon.”
He chuckled at that, and we had a brief but much friendlier exchange before he bid me a pleasant afternoon whilst he slipped on his ass-kicking shoes. Needless to say, my boss received all the repercussions he was most assuredly due. And this exchange taught me a valuable lesson, which I often mention in my blogs: always cover your arse if you are being strong-armed or bullied into something that you know is fundamentally wrong. This incident prepared me for a similar situation that I had to deal with when I started my own company.
I was doing another aircraft delivery for a Kuwaiti airline. During our testing, the number 1 engine would not automatically start as it should. Eventually, it started, and we made our reports. The response from the engine manufacturer was a bit shocking, as they said there was nothing wrong with it and sent a letter stating that the engine issue had no operational impact. I ignored the letter, took my team’s advice and my training and promptly rejected the engine. Because of this, I received an email demanding that I attend a conference call at the end of that week. Friday came, and when I joined the call, there were 30 other attendees, all waiting to tell me that my team and I were wrong. The atmosphere was immediately frosty and confrontational, and several members of the call tried to intimidate me. They repeated over and over again the phrases from the letter that the engine was fine, and the issue we had discovered had zero operational impact.
I sat there and listened patiently until it was my time to speak. I simply asked, “Of all the people on this call here today, how many of you have operational experience with commercial service?”
One gentleman said he had 13 years of experience with engines, to which I replied, “That was not the question. How many of you have been involved in commercial airline operations?”
Not one responded.
“None of you has the necessary experience, so how dare you have the audacity to lecture me on this. So let me tell you what would happen in an operational environment if this issue went ahead as you so wish. The aircraft would push back, they would try to start the number 1 engine, it would fail to start, so the aircraft would be brought back on stand so engineering and technical could resolve the problem. You have now lost your slot; your next one could be anywhere between half an hour and 3 hours later. So, you have now delayed that flight and the return flight, so there IS a huge operational impact! And as a result of this, I again refuse to accept this aircraft with this engine!”
There was a collective stuttering that often comes when a supposed powerful force meets an immovable object. I used this pause to finalise my point.
“So, all I need from you, gentlemen, is the date and time of when you are going to replace this engine. Aside from that, I have nothing more to say.”
There was a long silence before, one by one, people wordlessly left the chat. In the actual room with me was a lovely gentleman from the Kuwaiti Aviation Authorities. He leaned over with a smile and said, ‘Thank you for saying that, David. If you hadn’t, I certainly would have!’
Not long after this conference call, I received three phone calls in rapid succession. The first was from one of the gentlemen from the engine manufacturers who asked me, ‘What are you going to do now?’
“Finish my report and then return to my hotel,” I said with a smile.
‘What are you going to do about the engine?’ He replied flatly, unamused.
“Nothing! It’s not my problem. It’s yours!”
‘We’ll see about that!’ he said aggressively before hanging up.
The second call was from the head of propulsion of the leasing company that we were working with. And it was immediately clear that the engine manufacturer had called this leasing company to put further pressure on me. I explained the defect again and the reason why I was rejecting the engine.
‘I really don’t see this as a big problem, David, I really don’t.’
“Okay,” I said plainly. “I tell you what, if you put everything in writing stating that you will take full responsibility. I’ll accept the engine.”
‘I’m not going to do that.’ He shot back coldly.
“Then I’m not going to accept the engine! Have a lovely weekend.”
He hung up. 10 minutes passed, and I received the third call, this time from the leasing company’s financial director.
‘David, I understand there is a conflict between you and the engine manufacturer?! Let me be very clear, I know what the issue is, and you are doing exactly what should be done. You are looking after our company’s interest, which is what we are paying for. So…well done! And if you need my support, here is my number!’
At last, I thought, a professional. I thanked him for his kind words and assured him that this is how I always approach my work. We had a good conversation after that, and we wished each other well. It was nice to know I had a few orca allies in this shark tank! Sure enough, the engine was replaced that very weekend. And the replacement worked perfectly!
About two months later, I was working on another delivery for a Scandinavian airline. The team leader and I got on well, and we were having a casual discussion where I brought up this whole engine incident. He told me that whenever this issue occurred with his airline, they would all walk away and not return until the engine was replaced.
So, these were known, irrefutable issues that could not be denied. And yet instead of resolving them, they attempted to bully and browbeat me on both occasions. They failed, as all bullies do when you stand up to them. Corporate sharks swim differently from real ones; they are hard to recognise from a distance, but up close they show you their true colours and bare their teeth, especially when money is involved. So my advice to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation is to cover your back, go with your gut & experience and never, EVER compromise when it comes to safety!
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