Trust Between Layers

In aviating and investing, the system has a lot more freedom than you might guess.

In the photo we’re ‘between layers’ which can be the land of flexibility. Wether following the freewheeling visual flight rules or the mistaken for restrictive instrument flight plan, a couple seconds of conversation over the radio can make this entire space yours for exploring. Higher or lower for better temps, winds or turbulence mitigation — altitude is often yours for the choosing. It’s the same when it comes to bringing on an investor: minority or majority, active or passive.

Many smart founders and owners who are miss- or under-informed are fearful of investors pushing unreasonable expectations on them. But that’s not how investing works. In a proper market with honorable people the operators set the goals and the investors may help but seldom interfere if they’re met. In both cases, things change when you don’t take the trust you were given and honor it with the performance you committed to.

In aviation, you can declare an emergency and do just about anything you’d like to maintain a safe environment for your passengers and machine. You’ll be accountable to explain why things went sideways, and may be subject to remedial training, but neither is especially painful.

Similarly with investing, if you don’t meet your commitments (goals, revenues, launches, etc) there are usually many stages of remediation — helpful, then critical, then potentially controlling. Each of these progressing slowly with everyone’s desire that the operator remain in control or return to it with newfound help and resources. But as in aviation, it’s best to ask for help at the first indication of trouble.

That’s a principal of trust in partnership.