Yesterday United Airlines wrote a letter of apology for the way that they treated a customer (full report) when they had him forcibly removed from his seat due to an overbooked flight. The full text of the message can be found below. “It happened because our corporate policies were placed ahead of our shared values. Our procedures got in the way of our employees doing what they know is right”. How many times have we
“It happened because our corporate policies were placed ahead of our shared values. Our procedures got in the way of our employees doing what they know is right”.
This is a powerful statement and one that I struggle with daily. It’s so easy to let procedures guide us in our interactions instead of our heart guiding our interactions. Sure, procedures are in place to create a framework for the work we do, to establish a culture, to ensure uniformity, but in the case of United, procedures got in the way – big time.
“Our goal should be nothing less than to make you truly proud to say, I fly United.” This is the new company mission. This is the same mission that we what we strive for daily, to have our alums to say, “I’m proud to be an alum”. The letter goes on to say how United has empowered its employees to ensure that this mission is executed (more here),
How can we learn from the mistakes of United? In what ways can we empower our employees? How can we ensure that every experience is to create pride for our alumni?
