Boeing is a great American company currently experiencing chronic quality control issues. Designing and fabricating anything is difficult, but building machines that fly people through the air is next level. Coordinating hundreds of engineers, intertwined supply chains, thousands of employees and numerous external subcontractors is overwhelming. If you have ever visited the Boeing facility near Seattle you understand the scale, complexity and enormous investment required to produce aircraft.
Some of the buildings at the facility are so large they reportedly have their own interior “weather systems” with occasional precipitation. They have designed and built special aircraft simply to transport large parts required to build … more aircraft. In addition to providing safe, dependable aircraft for millions of travelers, the importance of this company to our nation is incalculable. That is why we should all be concerned when systems in that company appear to be faltering. The most important question is this: Can the issues be identified and fixed?
Without inside knowledge one cannot be sure about the cause(s) of Boeing’s recent difficulties. However, some speculate that the company became increasingly focused on the business of making aircraft rather than making great aircraft. This phenomenon is not unique and is becoming increasingly common.
It occurs when individuals take their eye off the main thing and begin focusing on what that thing can do for them. This self-focus can quickly permeate an entire organization and create a culture that is no longer fixated on its primary task and reason to exist. We all feel this shift and the inertia of society’s increased self-focus. It is so rare today to find someone who is truly captivated with their work and finds their greatest reward in the work itself. Regardless of your job — running a multinational company, making art, building homes, screwing a panel on an aircraft or cleaning toilets — do you take pride and find meaning in that work? Or do you care more about your status, salary, next break or upcoming vacation? What makes Boeing’s situation so startling and disturbing is the fact it is literally a matter of life and death. If this speculative cause is correct, the haunting question is clear: Do we have the ability and will as a society to turn from our growing self-focus and strive toward greatness?