Something’s Gone Wrong! Now What?

At some point in your career, something will go wrong. There’s a huge sliding scale on which to measure how wrong, from something minor, like a server bringing the wrong artificial sweetener, to something major, like needing to shut down an international event, because of a viral outbreak.

Your response when something happens can make all the difference in the world.

Some people might want to know, “how could this happen?” But the first step should be toward a remedy, rather than determining where to assign blame.

In the sweetener example, it could be simply apologizing and delivering the proper sweetener, case closed, and in the post-crisis analysis, reminding yourself not to get too distracted while doing your job, and multitasking is often a good way to do several things poorly, all at once.

In a bigger crisis, there will likely be several competing top-of-mind demands. They likely include stopping further damage. If it’s a problem with something coming off a production line, make sure it’s not still running. If its a data breach, make sure the breach is closed and any lingering effects eradicated, law enforcement is contacted, and messaging goes out to those affected by it, including what you’re going to do about mitigating further potential harm.

If the situation is likely to make the news, it’s best to prepare a statement for the media too. This doesn’t need to be a thoroughly researched final statement. It just needs to acknowledge that you’re aware of the problem and taking steps to remedy it—and establish when updates can be expected. Honest and open communications will go a long way. Offering excuses and changing your story frequently will do nothing but harm, and make you look guilty, incompetent or both. It’s far better to say you are investigating and will provide the answer as soon as you know it.

Early engagement is critical in the 24-hour news cycle, because staying silent will allow speculation and pontification to seize the story. By the time you figure out what really happened, the guesses and suppositions may be to powerful to overcome, even with full disclosure of the truth.

Remember: Fix it first, keep concerned parties informed, then instead of flinging blame, turn it into a learning opportunity to ensure a similar crisis never has the chance to arise.