Proudest Accomplishment
Seeking and receiving such wisdom has helped Schlaefli have a stellar career. You’d think he’d have no past haunts from his current proud perch. Not quite. Like in the movie Citizen Kane, he has his “Rosebud” from the past. “I’m just going to lay it on the line,” he says. “Honestly, when I think about accomplishments, it’s true that I went as a pilot through the management ranks pretty fast, probably faster than was healthy, and I now own several helicopter operations. But when I got my ATP (airline transport pilot certification), that was a huge accomplishment for me. I regret that I did not go to college and have no academic degree. (That hasn’t held me back in my chosen field.) When I walked away with that ATP, it was the only thing I could point to in my life at the time as an earned credential. I know it sounds weird and benign, but I saw that ATP as my college graduation.”
Silver Lining
Now, from his graduated view as a successful rotorcraft entrepreneur, Schlaefli sees something that’s concerning. Almost without exception, executives we profile see sunshine and blue sky for the future of helicopters. Schlaefli is almost an exception. He sees partly cloudy skies. As a relatively small operator, he sees more shadows than most larger corporations who have substantial resources to rise above the clouds. Schlaefli says, “From a small business perspective, the risks are greater than in most industries and the profit margins are small due to rising fuel and insurance costs. It can be hard for small helicopter operators to be successful. In the engineering field I started in, we didn’t have the same level of risk that we have in the helicopter industry. Mitigating risks is crucial to success in this industry, but reducing those risks is what makes this industry rewarding.”
Finding that silver lining shows Schlaefli doesn’t fake emotional intelligence. He’s obtained it.
16
Sep/Oct 2022
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