“The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.”

To my knowledge, tennis legend Martina Navratilova was never in airline sales. (She did fly a lot, though–Flushing Meadows to Melbourne Park and back to Roland Garros will log you some miles!). But when I saw her speak a few years ago, her ‘ham & eggs’ quote, in contrast to my experience with airline sales, made me ponder the Million dollar question. How do you lead a sales force from involved to committed?

I will attempt to lay out a framework for achieving this through a seven-step series over the coming weeks.  In my view, the airlines I’ve encountered are too dependent on single-track experience, not incentivized enough, or properly, aren’t willing to push staff outside of their comfort zones, maintain too much centralized control, develop strategy with a short-sighted view, or any combination of the above. I will elaborate in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.