What Is An Autopilot Business - Can It Be Done?

Lately I have been involved in several discussions about creating a business and setting it on autopilot.  I find autopilots to be a great analogy.  More so since I am a former military instructor pilot and a commercial airline pilot.

What business isn't is a "fire and forget missile".  That is the mistake many owners make.

So What's the difference?

Simply put, a fire and forget missile is exactly that.  You get it all set up, chase down your target and as soon as you fire the missile, you go chase another target.  The missile will go get the target all by itself.  They are quite scary toys when you get on the wrong end of them.  Just like sending a salesman out on his own, and customers getting away, jets have several tricks to protect themselves from a fire and forget missile.  If you don't make sure the missile shot down the target you just might find yourself the target.

Autopilots are much more like an investment grade or "seventh level" business.  If you don't know what a seventh level business is, Gary Kellers Red Book explains it pretty well.  He teaches independent real estate agents how to build a business and put it on autopilot.  The methods work for any business.

What most people don't realize is that an Autopilot is nothing more than a three dimensional cruise control.  Ironically, most autopilots have very limited ability to control the engines of the airplane, so using the autopilot at the wrong time can make things worse.

In a car when you set the cruise you still have to steer right?  Before the autopilot, all we had in the airplane is trim.  Trim keeps the airplane at the same altitude and in the same direction if all other things are equal.  If the wind changes, you need to change trim.  Temperature changes, you need to change trim.

Next came the autopilot.  It could correct for wind and temperature, but it doesn't have eyes or talk to the radar. If you set the autopilot and there is a big storm you still have to make adjustments to the system so you don't fly into the storm.

This is exactly where most business owners get into trouble and why I make good money teaching them how to fix the damage they did to their own systems.  Even the best franchises can have this problem.  The owner gets the business all set up, hires a good manager and as soon as everything is ok,  they feel like the autopilot is on so they step out.  

Pilots NEVER leave the flight deck even with the autopilot on.  Why not?  Things change.  

Weather, traffic, fuel and the systems are all variables the Autopilot can't see or react with.  At least one pilot is always up there monitoring the systems and the autopilot.  I check in on my business all the time.  Truly successful people live between very blurred lines of work and vacation for this reason.  

Notice I said at least one pilot is always up there monitoring the systems.  I didn't say the Captain was always up there.  My first lesson in leaving my business alone for a short period was the first time I went on a cruise.  I didn't have a cell phone or pager for four days.  After nearly having a nervous breakdown, I slept over 18 hours.  When I got back to the port and checked in, my number two did a great job.  There were a few glitches, but nothing catastrophic.

When I got back, I made some minor adjustments, and also decided to do it more often.  The trick is not to totally walk away.  Just like an autopilot, monitoring and adjusting is essential.

Even real estate investors and long term stock investors need to check in once in a while.  I like to see my investment properties at least once every three months.  I also give my cards to the neighbors and let them know that if my tenants are a hassle to please call me anonymously.  

I also have a simple program on my computer that shows green/red for my stock investments on a three month average.  Every three months or when I see red, I look at the stocks.  I don't buy penny stocks or gamble.  That means watching it every day.  That isn't autopilot.  Even the best companies can make mistakes or fall out of favor, and once every three months has turned out to work for me.

As systems and information get better, we can act like drone pilots, and control several drones from one location.  As long as there is a person in charge of each drone, and you just check in once in a while to verify everything is ok, you can actually run several businesses on autopilot at once.  

In the airplane, there is usually a "relief" pilot who joins the co-pilot, so there are still two sets of eyes on everything, and a free person to get the Captain if something goes really awry.  My friend that owns a dozen big name burger joints has a manager at each location and two GM's that float among all the location just like he does.  When he goes on vacation, he still checks the deposits every other day and the two GM's know how to get ahold of him.  Blurred lines between business and vacation.  

So can you put a business on autopilot?  Absolutely, as long as you respect the limits of the autopilot.  The Autopilot doesn't replace the pilot, it just frees him up to do other things from time to time.