The ongoing Boeing 737 MAX crisis raises the dilemma of when to pivot messaging and how not to over-promise. Buying time is tricky when the heat is on from the media and stakeholders. Boeing has had to move back its original return-to-service date for its jets several times, losing confidence and credibility with investors and customers. They are not alone in statements that don’t gain traction:
Photo Credit: Boeing 737 https://www.boeing.com
- GE CEO Larry Culp opted for truth-telling during a JP Morgan talk earlier this month, yet the company’s shares tumbled even further. The company’s financial facts are stubborn and the investment community wasn’t ready to accept the company’s story. Barron’s Steven Sears wrote, “Culp’s candor with his toughest critics is not celebrated because institutional investors make America’s voters look stable and thoughtful.”
- During the BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Anthony Hayward, BP CEO was roundly criticized for his off-the-cuff comment “I want my life back.” While a regrettable statement, there was little the company could say at that time to pivoting to positive efforts to restore its reputation until the well was capped and the gushing oil was no longer a 24/7 image on TV and the internet.
The pivot point in some crises can be as short as a day or two. In a chronic crisis that lingers, response strategies are akin to a holding pattern waiting for the opportune moment.
Suggestions:
- If you are in a fluid situation such as Boeing – don’t make declarative statements such as a “fix” that may get retracted.
- While waiting for the pivot point, communicate to stakeholders through various channels – website statements and videos, social media, advertising, op-eds, and stakeholder meetings. If you don’t communicate, you can lose control of the narrative.
- Listen, and monitor social media. Talk to stakeholders. Engage reporters you know and trust. Make adjustments and repeat the process as you have more information.
It’s all about creating an ongoing cadence of information.