Читать книгу The Art of Crisis Leadership - Kevin Cowherd - Страница 13

Key Concept

Eddie Haskell

vs. the Eagle Scout

Imagine two 10 year-old boys playing in the neighborhood they grew up in. The first boy, we’ll call him Tim, is running around, picking up rocks and throwing them. One of the rocks happens to go through his neighbor’s window. Very scared, Tim looks around, sees no one, then runs in the back door of his home and directly up to his room. There, he quickly shuts the door, looks out the window to ensure he wasn’t seen, then begins playing video games. (I would say read a book, but this is 2016).

What Tim didn’t realize was that an 80-year-old woman, we’ll call her Mrs. Cindy, was sitting by her window (as she does every day) and saw Tim throw the rock that broke his neighbor’s window. Mrs. Cindy can’t help but call the “victimized” neighbor, Mr. Brendan, to let him know what happened. One thing leads to another, Tim’s parents get called and before you know it, Tim is crying in front of Mr. Brendan, admitting his guilt and paying restitution. Tim is talked about all over town—he now has the Eddie Haskell reputation!

The second boy, we’ll call him Garrett, does the exact same thing—he throws a rock through a neighbor’s window. Although scared, upset and crying, he goes home and tells his Mom and Dad what happened. Well, Garrett ends up crying in front of Mr. Brendan as well. However, because he was proactive and apologetic, Mr. Brendan lets him off the hook, emotionally and financially. In fact, because he was honest and forthright, Garrett’s personal equity goes through the roof! Now, Mr. Brendan is telling everyone about his experience with Garrett and what a fine young man he his. Garrett earned the “Eagle Scout Reputation.”

This very basic character comparison speaks volumes about how leaders today handle crises, particularly issues that cause personal embarrassment. So many are afraid to raise their hand and take personal responsibility. When Steve Harvey royally screwed up and announced the wrong winner in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant, he didn’t blame others or do the “Potomac two-step.” He immediately apologized and did the best he could under a very public, humiliating circumstance.

Yes, everyone beat the living stew out of him for a few days, particularly on Twitter. But once the storm passed, most people understood that he had simply screwed up. Handled any differently, Harvey would have had even more explaining to do.