The media has been filled over recent weeks speculating whether Elon Musk might buy Ryan Air.
I have a vested interest in Ryan Air as my son declared it his favorite airline. He always asks me why are we not flying Ryan Air if we choose any other airline.
Every time he mentions the airline I always think back to my childhood and a family friend who happened to be Irish. His words even twenty five years ago were sage: Michael O’Leary is smart and his company works, he proclaimed, because he learns the organisation from the bottom up including the supply chain and business model, which enables him to drive efficiency and cost-cutting. He does the jobs of the least well paid and sees with his eyes where the problems and opportunities are.
Some years later and joining the IMF’s security team I came across the approach again of “Go to Gemba.” To understand an organisation and its operations you must experience them first hand. It is a leadership lesson which has stayed with me: how to get the most out of an international organisation which worked from Afghanistan to Yemen.
When I went to Palestine in 2023, just a few months before the start of the Gaza-Israel war, the first presentation I gave to the team from their office in Ramallah was “go to Gemba.” I proclaimed take me to Nablus, show me the problems and let me try to learn from these experiences in how to improve security for aid workers operating in Gaza and Palestine.
It was big hit. I spent the day learning about the security problems, staffs’ concerns, and saw myself some of the troubling spots around settler violence, road closures and more. Local staff liked me as I showed willing to see their job and learn their experiences. I keep the medical coat I wore to accompany them in my wardrobe as a reminder of this experience.
Security is like that: the solutions come from seeing the problems and speaking to people in the field and resolving the pain points. And equally important security is only effective if all staff trust you and see you as representing their concerns.
As I read the news today about Ryan Air, I once again reflect on business efficiency and security effectiveness through rolling up my sleeves and going to the heart of the problem and getting to know the staff.