Deconstructing with Della: When Bad Becomes Good
June 12, 2017 |
| A helicopter flies past the wildfire in Fort McMurray in 2016 (The Canadian Press) |
When I heard someone on the radio say that President Trump's rejection of the Paris Climate Agreement may have generated more interest and support for the agreement, it reminded me how much good can come out of bad things. I was even more encouraged when I heard former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg submitted a statement to the United Nations announcing that over 1,000 U.S. governors, mayors, businesses, universities and others will continue to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. What about that?
So often good things sprout from communication missteps or crises. This was evident on a panel I moderated for the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) a few weeks back. One of the panelists, Paul Spring, CEO and Operations Manager for Phoenix Heli-Flight is a testament to good communications coming out of a bad situation. In 2007 his Fort McMurray based company, a fleet of helicopters that put out fires and do specialized touring and flight services, had a tragic accident resulting in someone's death. It was devastating for Paul and his co-workers. They pride themselves on their safety record and were accustomed to saving lives.
The panel I moderated was to talk about crisis after the media spotlight fades. In Paul's case this has meant a dedication to the promotion of flight data monitoring. He speaks on the topic internationally and has become the recognized advocate for this form of monitoring in any travel application. His opponents call it a big brother and don't like the idea of a company knowing where their employees are at any given moment. He likes to draw the comparison to big brother as a good thing. The big brother that protects you from problems or is there for you when you need him.
Most crisis communication work I have done resulted in an operational or communication change in organizations. Even if the change was only to be better at communicating during an issue, there was always a willingness to do better.
Think of your own personal learning experiences from situations gone wrong. This is the first thing we all say, "Well, I won't do that again!" To deconstruct, we all make mistakes. While preventing a problem is ideal, that is not always the case in real life. Real life means taking tough lessons to heart and acting on them.
Talking about those lessons is hugely beneficial to others. Paul was so open about the lessons he learned. The crowd of some 250 communications professionals got a good inside view from the CEO perspective. I also think he and the other panelist gave the attendees strong arguments to take back to their workplace on the value of dedicating funds to crisis communication.
The more we can all share from our mistakes and miscommunication the better. Sometimes, incredible good comes out of really bad scenarios.
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