Is Boeing Learning? Can They Stay the Course?
Nothing like recent events to allow us to sharpen our communication skills.
The first one is Boeing—always a popular target…I mean topic. Observers are giving Boeing “improved” marks for their communication related to the Alaska Air incident. We say “improved” because their last turn in the crosshairs—the 2018 crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopia Airlines—resulted in such poor communications that the CEO and several others lost their jobs.
So things are improved from that.
As an example, the following is from an investor call a month after the incident.
“We caused the problem, and we understand that,” [CEO Dave Calhoun] told investors during a call after reporting the latest quarterly loss at the company. Whatever conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened. Whatever the specific cause of the accident might turn out to be, an event like this simply must not happen on an airplane that leaves one of our factories. We simply must be better.”
Emphasis added. Similarly, he said this to CNBC.
"We have a communications task with all of our customers. We're going to approach this, No. 1, acknowledging our mistake. We're going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way."
That’s the start of the process. Now you have to back it up with action and tell that story. Words alone don’t do it.
Four Thoughts…
As I noted on the Southwest Crisis, in today’s world the CEO simply must be out front of this. All stakeholders—internal and external—expect it. You cannot hire a CEO today who cannot be the face of a crisis response.
As Calhoun acknowledges, they are far from repairing their reputation. It’s going to be a long road that will require Mr. Calhoun to be out front, showing how things are being fixed. They seem to be ready to be engaged for the long haul, but time will tell. Axios has already noted Calhoun going quiet for a period of time.
Also, as noted by Peter Robison, author of "Flying Blind: The 737 Max Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing,” this problem will not be fixed by communication alone. Communications will play an important role, but only to the extent that they are telling the story of true change in the design, manufacture, and ultimate quality of airplanes.
I think if there is one thing that Boeing is missing is communication directed to the traveling public, whose patronage drives all of this. (Interestingly, the stock price has tumbled, but at 209 as of 2/3, is higher than it was on June 1. There was a jump when Dubai ordered $52B in airplanes on November 13). You don’t want people avoiding Boeing airplanes. But when Calhoun says he has had difficult conversations with “customers,” he means the people who buy the airplanes, not the people who fly in them. Not to put too fine a point on it, but those cell phone videos of a plane with a hole in it are unforgettable….
