Meet Craig Weston

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Craig Weston. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Craig below.

Hi Craig, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

In college, I participated in an experimental series or courses taught by Dr Kent Lawson. I went to college in the 1990’s in Oneonta NY. My time there was a mixed experience of both growing up and not knowing how to grow up, and the course, called Eduction, was an ideal way to learn how to relate to the world.

The foundation of course was exercises of various types to find paths to self-discovery. They ranged from simple thought exercises like “how can you leave this room in an imaginary but still possible way” to highly complex, step by step processes to deepen your self-awareness and understanding. The course bridged the gap between an awareness of self and awareness of the outside world, and taught how to relate to both.

Fundamental tools to self analyze yourself, no matter how flawed or inconsistently applied, has always given me the ability to pursue life choices that are beyond my comfort zone. It led me to believe that I could become an operations engineer, or program power plants, or fly a drone safely in adverse conditions.

Understanding myself gives me the ability to empathize with others more, take calculated risks, and understand the consequences of my actions more clearly. I’m not always successful but, taking careful risk is important to me.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

“Sky Photos LLC, founded in 2019 by owner and Chief Pilot Craig Weston, is a leading provider of aerial photography and videography services. The company specializes in thermal imaging, photomosaic photos, and natural light photo and video services, including handheld and 360-degree equipment. Catering to industries like construction, transportation, architecture, and industrial inspection, Sky Photos creates media for marketing, events, and more. The range of clients the that Sky Photos works with in documenting sites includes: construction, architects, banks, and building maintenance teams requiring data for insulation or roofing analysis. Additionally, the business offers safety and project consulting for clients with their own drone programs, drawing on Craig’s expertise in process engineering and incident management. As an FAA volunteer DronePRO, Craig provides guidance on drone safety and flight regulations, answering questions at craigw@skyphotosllc.com.”

The most important aspects of this business are fun and safety. I started this business after a career in software operations, which was indoors, at a desk, away from the sun, and not very satisfying. I’m now outdoors more often, having a great time flying my drones around a site, and being creative with digital media.

I’m also very serious about safety. Site safety is potentially a matter of life and death, or can cost a lot of money. Or both of course. I help companies be safe in their operations, and in mine.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The qualities that led me to this path are my experience with business operations, process management and creativity. Of course, as a drone pilot, learning to fly a drone safely and professionally is important too.
Without understanding process management and business operations, I would not have the knowledge to successfully operate and understand the complexities of the regulations from the FAA and other for flight, and the in’s and outs of running a business in general.

Creativity is a constant struggle to find and rediscover. I need this every flight and with every day to create opportunities for my business, demonstrate my abilities to my clients, and to find solutions to common, uncommon, or mission critical problems.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

One of the most important books I’ve ever read is “The Checklist Manifesto” by. Atul Gawande. This gives an understanding of just how important repeatable process is for everything from cooking dinner (did you remember to do the dishes?) to flying a drone (did you check the propellers?).

The point is to not get caught up in the exciting parts, and remember the non-exciting parts, and take care of the details.

Other important business books to me include “The Pheonix Project” and “The Unicorn Project” by Gene Kim. These illustrate how important building a team and process is to professional success, and how professional success can be rebalanced against personal life and values.

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Craig Weston

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