Many business folk, including myself, have had "Corporate Visions"and "Mission statements" rammed down our throat to the point where we just want to vomit. The majority of them are constructed of turgid corporate speak and are hedged with so many caveats as to be meaningless, e.g.: "Simultaneously loose and tight values", "simple complexity" and such like.
Not only is the jargon impenetrable and an exercise in doublethink, it is also insincere. How often have we heard the trite phrase "our people are our most important resource"? When you hear that, you can expect a Third of your workforce is going to be fired - probably by impersonal SMS or email message, within a year. How many times have I heard how "quality is paramount? Try stopping a shipment because of quality concerns and see what happens to you!
Nevertheless, despite the bullshyte, a clear vision of your desired end state - where you want to end up, is an essential tool in any endeavour and I suggest that without a vision we are never going to dig ourselves out of the hole aviation has dug for itself in Australia.
We have dug for ourselves????? Why yes. We let the politicians and bureaucrats run free without attempting to apply the brakes with any force. Without a shared vision we get side tracked into axe grinding and pissing competitions. We attempt to treat the symptoms and not the disease of over regulation. We fight yesterdays battles. Being pilots we don't handle dualities very well. We want instant resolution of unresolvable problems. Then egos start getting in the way and we fall in a heap…..again and again. We have no vision of what we want, operate piecemeal and are thus easily divided and conquered by those that do have a vision: Politicians seeking endless reelection, bureaucrats craving prosperous and none too demanding careers and both seeking absolute and unaccountable power.
How does one use a vision when one has got one? Simple. The test is that all your strategies, policies and tactics must relate to achievement of the vision. If there is no demonstrable relationship using words of one syllable to describe the relationship, then what you are trying to do is either unnecessary, a distraction, or worse, counter productive. Don't do it.
So what does a vision encompass? Your goals and what you will do in broad terms to achieve them in an all encompassing manner. Here is an example:
AOPA USA:
AOPA is the beacon for those who cherish the freedom to fly. It demonstrates what is possible when a determined organization listens to its members, collaborates with its colleagues, finds solutions with its partners in government, and focuses its resources—all to secure the future of General Aviation. AOPA’s success is proof that the public good can be served while individual freedoms are preserved.
To me the American AOPA vision is a model of clarity. The Australian AOPA? Not so much.
So what do we want to see? An Australian aviation sector generating jobs investment and growth that contributes to and enhances all facets of Australian society? something like that. How do we do that? By the U.S. AOPA methods.
Apply the test. How does strict liability regulation, part 61, ADS - B and a raft of other initiatives help us achieve the vision? They don't, at least in their current forms.
WHat about safety you say? Safety is a by product of a healthy sector. It can't be healthy if it isn't safe. The Aviation ACT is infantile in its treatment of "safety"especially its preamble, as is CASAs interpretation of it - which is self serving bull****.
The Act needs to be changed to require the fostering of a healthy, growing, aviation sector contributing to the Australian economy. Then CASA must be restructured accordingly.
Will it happen? Not unless you threaten the reelection prospects of Government politicians by running negative political campaigns in marginal seats - things have gone way too far for there to be a "negotiated" position. You can't have a partnership without mutual respect and CASA have demonstrated on numerous occasions complete contempt for pilots, sorry "uncaught criminals" furthermore the concept of partnership is anathema to the binary minds of former RAAF officers.
So rant on all you like about your pet peeves, it won't change a thing unless you get together and work out your vision and a plan to achieve it.