Mike Sinnett, Boeing's Vice President of Product Strategy, talks to reporters, Wednesday, March 27, 2019, about software and training updates for their 737 MAX 8 airplane in Renton, Wash. The Federal Aviation Administration plans to revamp oversight of airplane development after the two deadly crashes of 737 Max 8 airplanes, according to testimony prepared for a Capitol Hill hearing on Wednesday.
Why? Because truly effective and inspired crisis management is not a management or leadership skill you learn at business school — or law school. It’s also not always what you learned in your last crisis or leadership position, or even on your last board where you dealt with something similar.No... inspired crisis management makes you see around walls, from the outside in, not just the inside out.
But, of course, mostly not. At Boeing, everyone noticed. They also noticed the comments of airline pilots on blogs calling attention to unsolved problems. They noticed the seemingly cavalier attitude of the company toward implementing software fixes in an urgent manner. They noticed a seeming complete lack of urgency, a lack of responsibility taken for the crashes, and the deflection of blame. They noticed immediate silence from the top.
So, let's look at what I call"The Rule of Reciprocity." We're talking about the blood lust that the public can feel when they believe an organization has done them truly wrong. They don't just want window dressing punishment. Their innate desire, fueled by social media these days, is for the organization and its leaders to"suffer" just as much, or more, than it caused others to suffer.
It is in this way, when the"public" sees an organization punishing itself thoroughly enough, and truthfully enough, it actually does not feel as much of a need to punish the organization further. That's the only end-run you get around a cycle of endless anger and humiliation that many of the banks have suffered.Perception Trumps Reality