This morning I traveled from Christchurch to Wellington, on Air New Zealand flight NZ404. Given the situation with the ash cloud over the country, and that other carriers have suspended their flights (especially trans-Tasman), you can imagine that some people on board the plane would be worried.

In a very classy touch, the pilot came out of the cockpit before the flight took off, introduced himself over the loud speaker, and in view of all the passengers, told us what we could expect. “We’ll be flying at 15,000 feet, quite a bit lower than we usually do. Those of you in the back will probably feel more bumps than normal, given that we’re flying through denser air. If it’s too bumpy, there will be no breakfast, so please be understanding if that happens.”

I think that was the perfect way to handle the situation – making himself visible, showing up in person, and not just being a voice from the hidden room at the front. Kudos.

@flyairnz – I didn’t catch the name of the pilot, but if you can tell him from me, please say “well done.”

There are, of course, parallels to collaboration and user adoption:
– Getting in the same room as your collaborators and talking through the issues can be very powerful. I heard an example today where different groups who had been at loggerheads over a common issue starting collaborating and working together as a result of in-person meetings over a number of months.
– It’s in line with what I said yesterday about virtual teams at BP and coaching as a highly-effective user adoption strategy – get out there and work with the people you are trying to make successful.