Originally Posted by
777Nine
On that point, would you say that the guy that ran it for 7 years without making any money had an understanding of the complexities of business?
I don't see any issue in anyone stating their opinion, and it's up to the person reading the post whether or not they deem the post factual or just an opinion. In my opinion...
Of course he understands it. Does that mean he got every decision right? Probably not. Does it mean he got it all wrong? Probably not. In any case, my point doesn't relate to whether or not he or any other exec or CEO does or did a good job or not, it relates to people giving opinions on things they fundamentally don't understand in the same way someone who's never flown an aircraft would give an opinion on a pilot's performance by observing a simulator session. They might think they can assess what's happening based on whether or not the landing was smooth, but the reality is they neither have the knowledge or ability to assess the performance of the crew in pretty much any capacity. As professional flight crew we find would find that laughable so why are we generally so arrogant to think the same doesn't apply in reverse?
I'm amazed how many pilots I hear passing judgement on Virgin's or Qantas' business performance yet don't understand the difference between a statutory loss (profit) and and underlying loss (profit), just as a very basic example. Or how a given company continually losing money can still continue to increase in value over time. I'm not saying we shouldn't have opinions or that people aren't entitled to one, but the next time you listen to someone rant in a bar over the performance of any company (or for anyone reading this and has done it themselves), genuinely ask yourself, do they
really understand how to interpret financial results, read a balance sheet, assess investments, understand bonds or long term business strategy? How much experience do they
genuinely have to make that assessment? Or are they just doing what we, as pilots, tend to do very well...think that because we're professionals at flying mulit-million dollar aircraft around the sky it also makes us knowledgeable and professional in everything else? A few basic probing questions usually and very quickly highlight this in my experience.
All it takes sometimes is a bit of humility and accepting that we don't have to understand everything all the time.
...but that's just my opinion
