Competently Doing His Job

January 15, 2009, certainly seemed to be an extraordinary day, and it came at a time when everyone needed good news. The Hudson River, even on its best day, would not be considered a very compatible environment for an airplane, but at the hands of an extraordinary pilot and as an emergency landing pad, it was all more than a miracle in a New York minute. It was a match made on high by very benevolent cosmic forces.

The Airbus pilot, Sully Sullenburger, is far more popular that Joe the Plumber and for much more realistic reasons. His piloting experience, his glider experience, and his cool nerves in a crisis were, with the assistance of his crew of four, a form of competence that saved the lives of 155 people. In what has become his own inimitable style, Sully opined that he was "just doing my job." In my opinion, it is that simple and straight forward admission that has actually made him a hero and that has inscribed his feat on the hearts and minds of so many. As the old saying goes, timing is everything.

The safe landing of that plane has caught the American imagination for many valid reasons, but one has so far not been mentioned. A quiet, courageous man, simply did his job in the same manner he'd done it for many days and years previously during a time when many others with equal responsibility for monetary resources and for the quality of human lives, if not the lives themselves, couldn't be bothered to selflessly do their jobs. Not even the people charged with oversight of these incompetent, egotistic, and blase captains of industry and finance bothered to do their jobs. Sully saved the lives of 155 people. The financiers, bankers, commodity traders, credit gurus, and CEO's of our few remaining manufacturing industries disrupted, sullied, and diminished the lives of far more people that can be counted.

I remember so many of the admonitions that were prevalent when I was growing up and going through school. One of the most oft repeated was 'take pride in doing a good job.' One of the sayings I personally ascribed to was that I should turn out work I would never be embarrassed to sign my name to. Although we are not of the same generation, I can't help but wonder if Bernie Madoff ever heard those same admonitions, and if he did, if he ever repeated them to his sons. And what about Ken Lay of Enron scandal fame? Was his job to bilk people, or was he supposed to be running a company while meeting the needs of employees, customers and shareholders?

Reproducing a list of names for those too corrupt, greedy or incompetent to do their jobs, assuming they even knew what they were supposed to accomplish in those positions, would be far too involved and lengthy for anyone to manage, but any review of the news during the last decade would certainly leave a bad taste behind. There's one, however, that even I feel forced to mention, especially due to his appointment by another incompetent; Henry Paulson as Treasury secretary was to oversee and manage the banking bailout....all those billions of tax payer dollars to get the worst executive managers of the financial and banking industry out of the mess they created. As was typical of the industry itself, in which Paulson worked previously as CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the culprits in greed, the money was passed around without any controls or oversight in place for its use. How bad can anyone be at a job? Really rotten, as Paulson among others proved.

So, there we all were, with the supposedly most elite and knowledgeable people within the financial/banking/credit industries fumbling around making bad situations worse and refusing (or many unable) to recognize their own culpability, while equally culpable and inept government monitoring and regulating agencies were missing or ignoring the signs of a nation sliding down the tubes into complete chaos, and five average people headed by a 57 year old self-effacing pilot calmly does something seemingly impossible as a matter of course. He does his job and does it well.

When we've been surrounded by pettiness, ugliness, greed, egoism, stupidity, cowardice, ignorance, denial, and the basic incompetence of people who were 'all hat, no cattle,' we're suddenly face to face with the reality of what we've been missing. One single act exemplifies how idolizing money, sophistication, and old school ties has blinded us to what is truly important and vital in life. We've recognized that one must take their job seriously, as well as having pride in that work and doing it as best as one can. It's really simple. It's a question of accepting and meeting responsibility. Accolades and rewards if they come will have real meaning but will also be unexpected because that is not the reason one does a job well.

That five-person airline crew is now doing the talk show circuit. That's fine. Doing a job well should get attention, particularly during this time of insecurity. But for a change, let's hope the viewing public sees the reality and the differences between the Sullys of this world and the Ken Lays or Jack Abramoffs or Henry Paulsons or Bernie Madoffs. One takes pride in doing a job well and the others are just prideful in their corruption and incompetence. We definitely need more Sullys...and we won't survive if we create or allow more of the others.