http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/16/crash.pilot.profile/
http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=8027

Succeeders,

By now I know everyone has heard about Sullenberger’s fatality-free crash landing in the Hudson River. Good work Sullenberger, but I will not call you a hero for this. Your job is to fly and land a plane safely, even if it is a crash scenario. You did your job very well and that is what is expected. But listen Sullenberger, consider this my invitation for you to be my personal pilot. Give me a ring at 1-888-414-3083.


Image courtesy of hollywoodcelebgossips.com

Sullenberger’s skills are appreciated world-wide. By not killing any of his 155 passengers or crew he is now living off his 15 minutes of fame. But Succeeders you have to look deeper at this situation. Look past the skills of a pilot and the plane in the river to see how an event like this linked to everything else going on in the news.

Now listen, Sullenberger is 57 and not long ago the retirement age for pilots was 60. A couple of years ago, around the time the economic crisis started, pilots finally won the right to have retirement pushed up to 65. The pilots claimed that they wanted to keep experienced pilots like Sullenberger in the air as long as possible, but we all know that all they really care about is that five extra years of salary. It is no coincidence that the economic crisis is in full swing as the laws change to have a 62 year-old fly me to Malaysia. By having older pilots on the tarmac you don’t need to invest time and money teaching youngbloods about cabin pressure and you don’t have to start paying the old-timers their pensions for five more years. And yes it is true, as a result you get to keep the experience a guy like Sullenberger has in the captain’s chair. Let’s face it, if some 35 year-old newbie pilot was trying to ditch his Airbus in the Hudson not only would everyone onboard died, but New York would have been short a bridge and a few boats. Succeeders need to look at the big picture here. By not having the bad young pilots around we get a chance to have the best pilots at the controls. And this is pattern is not limited to the airport. Every industry out there is figuring out ways to hang onto the good people and keep the new recruits and the failures out.

Image courtesy of todaysseniorsnetwork.com

It is survival of the fittest Succeeders! Only the strong, those with experience and skills, will survive. No more giving cushy jobs to failures who barely get hired, now those bums are out on the street where they belong. This whole economic crisis is actually a great way to see evolution in action. Now we can see how the strong will survive industry by industry and how the weak will have to wait in line for some government cheese. In fact, because of how the crisis keps building, Succeeders will actually see a sped up version of evolution in action as job situations become less secure. Listen up Summiteers, this is a learning experience and you have to exploit it. Do what I do, pick a few industries and see what tricks they implement to keep the good employees around and find a way to capitalize on it. For the airlines, raising a pilot’s retirement age to 65 was brilliant, and now I offer a Solution Engineering plan to any pilot who had to retire early before the law changed.

Don’t worry Succeeders. I am the most experienced Solution Engineer and Life Hacker in the industry. You will never have to worry about coming to this site one day and finding myself replaced by a younger, incompetent, and watered-down version of Scott Summit. I am still a good 43 years away from my retirement. I have been in this business too long to let any other guy try to land MY Solution Engineering Airbus A-320 in the Hudson.

Stay on Top,

Scott Summit
DBNR

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