David in the time of Goliath
August 31, 2020
Bible stories were a big part of my growing up. One I always liked was from the Old Testament. It told how a boy armed with only a slingshot slayed the giant, Goliath. David’s faith and courage overcame his opponent’s greater size, heavy armor and sharp spear. Lately, I’ve been thinking that King Aerospace feels like a David.
In a world of bureaucratic, slow-to-react multinational conglomerates, King Aerospace remains small, nimble and privately owned. We’ve had opportunities to be bought out by bigger companies. We’ve chosen to stay independent. Maybe it’s our Texas roots, family feel or working-class grit, but we don’t want to lose our unique spirit.
It’s hard to describe, but you see it in action. It drives us to take a no-excuses approach to problems. It compels us to pull together tightly as a team. It fills us with pride to earn our King Aerospace wings.
Not having shareholders to answer to makes us more willing and able to be guided by motives other than ever-growing profits. Don’t get me wrong. We watch the bottom line and work to keep it healthy. We just don’t let it be our reason for being. We can set our own priorities without shareholder expectations or interference.
Decisions can be made with a focus on creating real value and long-term success. We can choose to invest in our team and our unique King Kulture. We’re not in the endless game of reducing costs to squeeze out greater profits – and hoping customers don’t pick up on the resulting reduction in quality.
We can, and do, make decisions quickly, allowing us to respond decisively as market forces change. The pandemic is a recent, relevant example. As customers have had to adjust their spends, we’ve made corresponding course corrections. Perhaps someday we will have to rethink our decision, but for now we will remain focused on making a positive difference in all we do. Three decades in, I feel very proud to be a David.