By Hank Adler
Monday, October 28, 2013
"Okay, so you made a mistake at work. You’ve just joined the least exclusive and largest club on the planet. The issue is not whether you make a mistake (and you will). What matters is how you deal with it." (excerpted from: You Don't Have To Be Smart To Own A Smartphone And Other Lessons to Excel at Your First Job After Graduation)
If it is a big mistake and everyone makes big mistakes,
before making a public comment, the first step is always to make a complete
assessment of the problem. That assessment has to determine both the why, the
solution and the time required to achieve a solution. Some big mistakes have
easy and quick solutions; others have difficult pathways to solution and these
may take long periods of time. Partially solving a problem, minimizing a
problem and/or blaming someone else for a problem are poor choices.
The credibility of the individual, company or government
is generally on the line once a big mistake has been made. Almost nothing
destroys credibility more than having the customer find out that your initial
statements about the problem are one hundred percent incorrect. Worse yet, if
along with the problem, the customer is also finding out that previous
important representations cannot be delivered regardless of when the problem is
fixed, the necessity of a perfect response is complete.
Almost always, the best first response is
"We are sorry but something has gone very wrong with xyz. As soon as we are certain we know the scope of the problem, we will be as transparent as possible and will strive to correct the problem as soon as possible. Again, we are really, really sorry for any problems you are having."
Very few people respond negatively to an honest apology.
And then there are the responses with respect to
Obamacare. It is a textbook case of what not to do. These responses will haunt
the program and those in place to execute it forever.
Don't Immediately Respond With What One Wishes The
Problem To Be, Know What The Problem Is:
Telling the American people that the problem with the
Exchange website was the volume of inquiries when there were serious software
issues was a terrible mistake. This answer provided no reason that when the
Department of Health and Human Services figures out what the real problems are
that anyone will believe them.
Don't Pretend That Prior Promises Can Be Kept If They
Cannot Kept:
The Administration should have been ready to respond as
to why "If you like your insurance, you will be able to keep it" was
really: "If the government thinks your insurance is OK, you will be able
to keep it."
The Administration should have been ready to respond as to
why "If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep him" was
really: "If you want to keep your doctor, it might be much, much more
expensive and the reality is that you may not be able to keep your
doctor."
Consider and Have Responsible Answers For Future
Uncomfortable Questions Before They Are Asked:
The Administration should have been ready to respond as
to: Why was a firm that included an executive who was a college friend of the
President's wife selected to create the Obamacare website without a competitive
bid?
The Administration should have been ready to respond as
to: Why were millions of insured Americans not informed that their health
insurance plans were being terminated until late October when their insurance
companies knew this at least a year ago? Was the late timing at the direction
of the Department of Health & Human Services? This smells terribly of a
conspiracy to keep the information from the public.
Don't Attack "Bob' When It Is Your Mistake
Blaming anyone except Democrats for a plan that garnered
virtually no Republican support and which was administered exclusively by a
Democratic administration will never play well with Americans who are facing
significant insurance costs increases, new health insurance plans and new
doctors. Americans know this plan belongs to the President.
And what now?
It is too late at this point to undo all or perhaps most
of the reputational damage to the Obamacare brand. However, it is never too
late to apologize and accept blame. It is never too late to be candid with
respect to the promises not kept. It is never too late to choose candor over
spin.
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