Tag Archives: helicopter crash in Lake Michigan

Believe In Your Staff When They Screw Up

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea that will build enhanced performance throughout your organization.

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! The young corporate helicopter pilot screamed into the radio over Lake Michigan shortly after taking off from Chicago. Equipment failure. The blades stopped turning and the helicopter began dropping like a rock out of the sky. The pilot’s heart sank just as fast.

After all, he was flying four executives on their corporate helicopter. All he could think of as he carefully and skillfully ditched the helicopter into Lake Michigan was that if he didn’t die in this helicopter crash he certainly would be fired.

Somebody’s got to take the fall for a screw-up like this and with only two years seniority on the job he was most likely to be the fall guy.

Splash! The helicopter safely ditched. Lake Michigan quickly swallowed up the helicopter. All four executives and the pilot were safe. There were wearing their life-vests and bobbing in the 54-degree water as the sun was setting on a cool autumn day. Within an hour, the Coast Guard rescued all five. They were cold but not hurt. The Glad-to-be-Alive-Five took alternative transportation that evening back to their corporate headquarters. All were back to work the following day.

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