What Pre-Flight Checklists Taught Me About GTM Planning
Aviation checklists exist because smart people forget obvious things under pressure. GTM launches should work the same way.
The Checklist
Every flight starts the same way. Before the engine turns, before the radios come on, before anything happens — you pull out the checklist.
Fuel selector: BOTH. Mixture: RICH. Carburetor heat: OFF. Master switch: ON. It doesn’t matter if you’ve done it a thousand times. You read every line. You check every item.
Because the checklist isn’t for the things you might forget. It’s for the things you’re certain you’ll remember — right up until the one time you don’t.
Why Smart People Skip Steps
In product marketing, I’ve watched brilliant strategists skip the basics. Not because they don’t know better. Because they’re so focused on the creative breakthrough, the clever positioning angle, the perfect narrative — that they forget to confirm the pricing page is updated before launch day.
Aviation has a term for this: get-there-itis. The overwhelming desire to reach your destination that makes you ignore the weather, skip the fuel check, or push through conditions you shouldn’t.
In GTM, it looks like rushing to launch because the exec team picked a date and nobody wants to be the one who says “we’re not ready.”
My GTM Pre-Flight
After years of flying and launching, I started treating every GTM plan like a pre-flight checklist. Not a strategy document. Not a creative brief. A checklist.
Before engine start (2 weeks out):
- Positioning doc approved and distributed
- Sales enablement materials drafted
- Pricing confirmed and in the system
- Legal review complete
Before takeoff (launch week):
- Landing pages live and QA’d
- Email sequences loaded and tested
- PR embargo confirmed
- Analytics tracking verified
After takeoff (launch day):
- Social posts scheduled and publishing
- Sales team notified and briefed
- Support team has FAQ and escalation path
- War room channel open
The Discipline of the Obvious
The best pilots I know aren’t the ones with the fanciest maneuvers. They’re the ones who never skip a checklist item. Never assume. Never get complacent.
The best product marketers work the same way. The launches that go sideways aren’t usually missing a brilliant insight. They’re missing a checkbox.
Fuel quantity: checked. Competitive positioning: checked. Emergency procedures: briefed. Rollback plan: documented.
Clear for takeoff.