TL;DR: If everything needs you, you’re not flying, you’re holding the wings on. Build autopilot with decision logs, role guardrails, and a cadence that runs without you. Measure % of decisions made without founder involvement.
The Danger of Running Your Business on Autopilot
In the cockpit, there’s a story every pilot has heard about the use of autopilot, one pilot turns to the other and asks:
“What’s it doing now?”
It refers to the autopilot, when the aircraft starts climbing, turning, or behaving in unexpected ways. You ask that question to rebuild awareness, understand control, and prevent drift.
It is a good question for founders and growth leaders, too.
Because if you haven’t asked it in a while… your business might be flying itself.
I work with founders who’ve realised their business is flying, but maybe not toward where they thought.
Using strategy frameworks and team diagnostics, we:
Autopilot isn’t bad. In fact, it’s essential. You can’t scale without systems, routines, and people making decisions without you.
But trouble starts when you stop checking what the system is actually doing.
Founders often assume that something will turn up—that growth will come, alignment will return, or people will “figure it out.”
But what they really need is a simple, confronting question:
“What’s my business doing now—really?”
In aviation, we don’t just “set and forget.” We monitor systems. We intervene when needed. We stay aware of the big picture.
In business, that means regularly checking:
Autopilot is useful. But leadership requires attention.
The most important question isn’t “Where are we going?”
It’s:
“What’s it doing now?”
Let’s answer that together.
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