Many executives resist the investments if cost benefits are not clear - unless they have the resources and the guts to do so. Unmeasurable is crucial for making decisions on whether or not to invest in things like fleet, network expansion/restructuring, outsourcing, business mergers – actually almost every side of airline business, including people. In the world of imperfect information systems, senior decision makers can surely get some hints from measurement, but often not enough to lessen the risk of failure.
Understanding the threats of hidden losses is an art, not a science. You cannot learn it in business schools. Generic knowledge is good as a foundation, but if you don't know your airline from inside out, it won’t help you make right decisions.
So, find the way to understand as much of intangble values and your risk taking will become less risky.
