Decision making under pressure: the lessons from Operation Safed Sagar
Group Captain Ashwani Bhakoo VSM, formerly Indian Air Force, and author of Wings of the Mind: Rise and Live Beyond

You’ve seen the hit Hindi-language Netflix series Operation Safed Sagar, now meet the pilots and see how the lessons from that conflict changed the way they make high-stakes decisions. Ashwani Bhakoo spent over two decades as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force, flying MiG-21s and Jaguars. In 1999, the then-Squadron Leader commanded No 14 Squadron (“The Bulls”), and flew missions during Operation Safed Sagar, the Indian Air Force campaign that supported ground forces in recapturing Indian positions along the Line of Control during the Kargil War. Flying at altitudes above 18,000 feet in terrain neither side had expected to be contested during winter, his squadron completed approximately 100 missions during the conflict, which ended in a decisive Indian victory. Ashwani, who holds the Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service, went on to found the Indian Armed Forces Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Leadership, and is the author of Wings of the Mind: Rise and Live Beyond (2025). In this session, he will bring that background to bear on the two problems CFOs raise most often: deciding with incomplete information, and making sound calls quickly under pressure. His framework rests on three principles. The 70% decision rule holds that complete information is never coming; the discipline is deciding well with the data you have. “Respond, don't react” distinguishes reflexive reaction from a trained response that runs through the analytical brain. The third is the wingman principle: no fighter pilot flies alone, and the discipline of pairing every decision maker with someone empowered to say "that's wrong" before, during and after the fact is what turns individual judgement into a reliable system.

This is an online event open to member CFOs and their team members in the region.