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The Worst Mistake Most Organizations Make, Not Just United

The Worst Mistake Most Organizations Make, Not Just United

Hint: they have a hard time accepting we are human

Gustavo Razzetti's avatar
Gustavo Razzetti
Apr 17, 2017
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Demystify Culture
Demystify Culture
The Worst Mistake Most Organizations Make, Not Just United
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Hint: they have a hard time accepting we are human

pic by Elaine Casap

What started as an airline crisis unveiled something more terrifying: our inability to deal with mistakes.

Why did the United Airlines video go viral? Because what happened was bad? Or because it’s easier to criticize other’s mistakes than accepts ours?

Every person has become a reporter; every pocket now holds a high-definition camera. But we are not behaving like real reporters. We are not reporting the news, we are simply broadcasting our personal opinions and reactions.

What if we take United’s crisis as a warning light? To reflect on our ability (or not) to deal with mistakes in public. How will we behave if we were to face our “15 minutes of unwanted fame”?

Why Do We “Like” to Hate?

“Reacting is human, learning is both human and smart.”

It’s easy to criticize United airlines for what happened, once it happened. To speak from a position of perfectionism and rightfulness. We all suddenly became CEOs, crisis-management …

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