Edward Kilkeary Sr. has
learned a lot about business from his clients.
The founder, president and CEO
of L.J. Aviation Inc., which posted 2007 revenue of $40 million,
counts some of the wealthiest
people in southwest Pennsylvania
and beyond among the clients of
his company, which provides private aviation services.
Kilkeary calls them “old-money Pittsburgh” and says
there are no better teachers for a
business leader when it comes
to the basics of being a good
businessperson.
“There is something to be said
about old money,” Kilkeary says.
“They’re polite, on time and
respectful. I’ve learned, from
some of the families we’ve operated for in the Pittsburgh area,
things like once you’ve earned
someone’s trust, you should be
respectful of that. It’s just a truth
I’ve learned that I’ve seen over so
many years.”
Over the years, Kilkeary’s
clients have taught him that
before you formulate a pages-long operating strategy, you first
need to be sure you’re building it
on a solid foundation.
Smart Business spoke with
Kilkeary about how to make sure
you’re focusing on the business
basics.
Connect with your employees. I
see everybody every day. I
make it a point.
I used to watch Herb
Kelleher, the former chairman at Southwest Airlines,
who is retired now. He’d go
in late at night, and if he’d
see his workers doing a difficult job, he’d pitch in. Here
is the chairman, and he
walks in and asks if he can
help.
It’s the same thing here. We
run three shifts, 24 hours a
day, and it’s not uncommon
if I get home at 11 or 12 at
night to just run down and
see what the third shift is
doing.
They get a kick out of it,
that I’m going down to see
how the third-shift guys are
doing — ‘What are you working on; how is the night shift
treating you?’
I go out every day and talk
to the maintenance guys, the
line guys and tell them if I
think the airplane is looking
nice, show my appreciation
for them getting a job done so
we can fly a client. Appreciation
goes a long a way, and you
can do that financially or just
by saying thank you.
People like to know that
they’re a part of the business. They’re working for a
paycheck, as I am, but people enjoy that thanks from
the head of the company. It
means a lot.
I’ve always thought of
myself as a worker. I try to
lead by example from that
standpoint. If there is a trip,
if it was later in the afternoon or a long night, if one
of my clients is out in the
middle of the night and
something happens, I’ll go
get in the airplane and fly the
trip.
You’ll never be successful if
you’re just sitting there waiting for the next chip. I just
don’t think that’s the way to
run a business.
