Leadership Lessons from a Fighter Pilot

As a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, Kaminario CEO, Dani Golan, learned that the right team enables an organization to whatever it wants. Being agile, responding to changes in business and technology, all require leadership and teamwork.

 

Oct 08, 2016

As a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, Kaminario CEO, Dani Golan, learned that the right team enables an organization to whatever it wants. Being agile, responding to changes in business and technology, all require leadership and teamwork.

In today dynamic business environment, organizational agility is essential skill for providing continuous value to customers.

Transcript

Michael Krigsman: I’m Michael Krigsman, and we’re talking with Dani Golan, who is the founder and CEO of Kaminario. Dani, how are you?

Dani Golan: Excellent, Michael. It’s great to talk to you.

Michael Krigsman: And, you are talking right now from Israel, and I see that you have a large photo of a plane, and you have models of airplanes behind you on your desk. So, tell us about that. Why do you have these models?

Dani Golan: So, this is part of my background. I used to fly planes, I used to be in the Israeli Air Force for many years, and it is certainly a part of me.

Michael Krigsman: So, being in the air force; being a fighter pilot - how does that inform your leadership style, and from a leadership perspective, what did you learn?

Dani Golan: That is an excellent question, Michael. If you look at what it takes to fly a jet, I would say there are two major elements. The first and most important one is that you will never find a solo plane in the sky. It is always part of a unit. You’re being taught from Day One that it’s all about teamwork. In combat flying, it means life or death; and in business, it means absolutely the right team can perform anything. Business can change, technology can change, but with the right team, you can accomplish anything. That is the biggest lesson I’ve learned, and I try to absolutely gear to this in Kaminario.

The second element is important and relevant to the modern business world. The modern business world is far more dynamic, far more agile than ever before. And, if you look at our business, IT really fought back in adapting to this brave new world. IT is slow to change, expensive, complex; really, the same dynamic nature that you learn in the air force: that you need to adapt very quickly, and which we really bring into every part of Kaminario. It’s how we act. It’s the product that we developed, and the value that we provide to our customers. It’s really our dynamic nature at Kaminario that appeals to the modern business world.

Published Date: Oct 08, 2016

Author: Michael Krigsman

Episode ID: 382