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Updated Saturday, February 13, 2010 11:41 am TWN, The China Post news staff

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Learning to manage crises'before they create trouble

By then the once respected athlete had pretty much become a figure for ridicule thanks to the media craze and the late night jokes that helped fill the void in his absence.

Since the beginning of the recall, Toyota had stuck to the book of how to sabotage a company in the time of crisis. Instead of leveling with the public, the company first tried to “limit the damage” by blaming the problems to the easier-to-fix error of floor mats getting jammed with gas pedals. That approach only led to more reports by people whose own experience told them otherwise.

Then the carmaker began to mention a problem with gas pedal itself while still insisting the cars' sophisticated electronic system is not to be blamed. That in turn led to public vote of disapproval by Steve Wozniak, co-founder of technology giant Apple, who said in TV that he believed a software problem is the reason of acceleration problem of his Prius hybrid.

There is no worse PR nightmare than having a technology leader confirming publicly the exact technological glitch one tries to deny. It either shows the company could not grasp with the scope of the problem or that it is lying to its customers. Both seriously hurt customer confidence.

It is human nature to love victories over troubles and to enjoy talking about the secrets of success more than sharing one's failures. Crises are messy and embarrassing to deal with. There seems to be no glory in handling a fiasco well. The best result one could hope for is a mitigated blow. Not exactly a highlight of one's career.

The fact is people often underestimate the value of crisis as the revealing moment of one's strength. Marketing expert Clotaire Rapaille pointed out that compared to a company that makes no mistake, people are actually more drawn to a company that is capable of handling mistakes and show their respect to customers in the process. In other words, crises can be a better heart-winner than success.

Businesses, people and governments should consider substantially enhancing their capability to deal with crises, whether they are PR fiascos, financial troubles, natural disasters or other kinds of difficulties. Crises hit only rarely, but when they hit they hit hard. A true leader is not a person who knows how to win but one who knows how to lead in difficult times.

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Comments

February 16, 2010 hakkaklkhtwlee@

No human or mechanical design is infallible, but honesty remains the best policy once a mistake has been made. This ancient wisdom remains as valid as it was thousands of years ago. Admit that mistake has been made through whatever reasons, and do something immediately to effectively correct or remedy the situation and the damages caused is the only way out.