Fuck-up better.
The recovery is the relationship.
A recovered mistake earns more loyalty than a flawless engagement. The mechanic is five steps:
01
Awareness
You noticed before they did, or at least at the same moment.
02
Acknowledgement
You said so out loud, clearly, without hedging.
03
Apology
A real one. Not ‘we're sorry you feel that way’.
04
Action
What you're doing about it now.
05
Additional generosity
Something more than the fix.
Most firms skip steps 1 to 3 because they feel like exposure. They aren't.
The acknowledgement is what earns the relationship back.
The additional generosity is what grows it past where it was before.
This is firm-wide discipline, not a personality trait.
- 01The five A's are the protocol. All five, in order.
- 02Within 24 hours of the mistake landing, all five deployed.
- 03Additional generosity calibrated to the relationship and size of the screw-up. It should sting a little.
- 04Document the recovery so we learn for next time.