Boeing’s Culture is Behind Its Demise

Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun, and many of the firm’s C-suite executives, recently announced they are stepping down.  The move comes as Boeing grapples with a huge crisis – planes malfunctioning in flight and whistleblowers all too eager to throw the company under the bus for cutting safety corners.

As of this writing, Boeing shares are down 35 percent year-to-date and down 55 percent in the past five years.  What’s it going to take to turn the ship around?  Analysts and industry experts are clear that Boeing won’t be able to recover until it sorts out its core problem – its culture.

A string of whistleblowers are claiming that pressure was placed on employees to approve design flaws, which has led to sub-standard parts being fitted to its aircraft.  John Barnett, a former quality manager at the company, claims workers had removed parts from scrap bins and fitted them to planes to prevent delays on the production line – allegations Boeing strongly denies.

Veteran aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia says the issues began in the mid-2000s, when a ‘Jack Welch’ culture took over – a reference to the former boss of General Electric, who was an expert at squeezing as much money from a business as possible.  “I don’t think it’s complacency.  Boeing’s problem is hideous, extreme greed,” says Aboulafia.

He continued, “They can get there with the right strategy and the right leadership.  But the first step is to challenge part – or all – of the Boeing 737 airplane, which will take a decade.”

What Can I Do?  Always put employee well-being and consumer safety before profits in your business.  One way to do this is to champion a re-writing of your organization’s values, to remind everyone what you stand for.  Additionally, as an HR leader, you can protect whistleblowers by fostering a ‘Speak Up’ culture and implementing a Retaliation Response System.  Are profits important?  Of course, but if you look at Boeing’s share price you’ll understand that greed and throwing employees under the bus is not a recipe for success.