BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

In the months since he safely landed U.S. Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River after a collision with birds took out both engines, the word “miracle” has been used time and again to describe Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s heroic crisis response. But with the more we learn about the man who saved 155 lives on that faithful day, the more we see that this was no miracle at all. Sully was the right man, in the right place, at the right time not by luck; but because of the countless lessons learned (both in and out of the cockpit) that prepared him to masterfully navigate his moment of truth.

The first of those lessons came early in Captain Sullenberger’s life. In a recent article published by the co-author of his upcoming book, Sully talks about his reaction to the story of Kitty Genovese, who in 1964 was stabbed to death within earshot of countless witnesses who failed to come to her aid. “I made a pledge to myself, right then at age 13, that if I was ever in a situation where someone needed my help, I would choose to act,” says Sully. The lesson learned is simple: In crisis, we can be bystanders or protagonists to history. Protagonists write their own narrative. Bystanders cede control of it to others.

Later in life, when he and his wife, Lorrie, faced a great many hurdles in adopting children, Captain Sullenberger again learned a lesson that proved invaluable on flight 1549. “The challenges [we] faced made me better able to accept the cards I’ve been dealt and play them with all of the resources at my disposal,” Sully says. Again, the lesson is simple: In crisis, don’t wallow in self-pity or the blame game. Sully didn’t blame the birds, the mechanics, or lousy luck; he fixed the problem – and in so doing, he painted a clear picture for all of us of what works in crisis, and what doesn’t.

Another lesson that is applicable to business crises today came to Captain Sullenberger during his days in the Air Force. A study on air-crew ejections showed that many pilots waited too long to eject from a distressed aircraft – in the hopes that the plane could be saved and the pilot could avoid retribution for losing a multi-million dollar piece of equipment. Here, Sully learned that crisis changes the definition of success. Goals once considered sacred become expendable. Sacrifices once considered unthinkable become the only way out alive.

There are, of course, countless other lessons that helped Captain Sullenberger and his crew bring the saga of fight 1549 to a successful conclusion. But the one that provides the greatest insight into Sully’s heroism – and the one best suited to guide each of us through the crises that strike our businesses, our families, and our lives – is the one he hadn’t realized he’d learned until it saved his life. “We need to try to do the right thing every time, to perform at our best – because we never know what moment in our lives we’ll be judged on,” Sully says.

When Captain Sullenberger’s moment of truth arrived, he succeeded by falling back on the lessons learned over a life spent trying to “do the right thing every time.” Now, we can all fall back on them as well should we ever find ourselves similarly in the eye of the storm.

Richard S. Levick, Esq. is President and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, the nation's top crisis communications firm, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with him @richardlevick.