Leadership Challenge at Uber

A New York Times article describes discomfort among Uber’s leadership as the company plans to go public. Founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick wanted to join the company to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, a tradition for IPOs. Kalanick still holds a seat on the board and, as founder, he wanted to participate in the company’s joyous moment—and to bring his father.

Current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi denied the request. For two years, Khosrowshahi has been trying to shed negative public perceptions of Uber, partly attributed to Kalanick’s leadership style and the company’s “bro-culture.”

The article describes a fractured board that didn’t fully support Khosrowshahi and a company that has yet to turn a profit, losing revenue on almost every car ride. Uber follows Lyft’s recent IPO, which has lost about $26 per share since its IPO in March.

Uber image source.

Lyft image source.

Discussion:

• Did Khosrowshahi make the right decision? Why or why not?

• Consider Kalanick’s perspective. What’s his point of view? Should he have asked at all?

• What leadership character dimensions are illustrated by this situation?

Facebook Announces Plans for Privacy

After several scandals and escalating criticism, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced new products and several new features to move from public posting to private conversations. The new Facebook design focuses on groups instead of the newsfeed and adds interactivity, such as posting jobs. Some of these features, of course, compete with existing social platforms, such as LinkedIn.

In a post, Facebook described the focus of its two-day conference: “how we’re building a more privacy-focused social platform — giving people spaces where they can express themselves freely and feel connected to the people and communities that matter most.” 

Communication, friends, and community are themes in the message. Zuckerberg’s keynote is titled, “The Future Is Private.”

Discussion:

• Assess Zuckerberg’s keynote. Who are his primary and secondary audiences? What are his communication objectives? To what extent does he meet them? How would you describe his delivery skills? Does he convince you that Facebook is addressing criticism? Do you think Facebook is moving in the right direction?

• Zuckerberg opens his keynote by saying, “Privacy gives us the freedom to be ourselves.” How does this relate to concepts of authenticity? Do you agree with his conclusion?

• Also assess the post announcing changes for Facebook and other apps. Which features or new products most and least excite you?

Whistleblowers at Boeing

On The Daily podcast, a former quality manager at Boeing describes safety concerns and efforts to report them. He is one of more than 12 employees the New York Times reporter interviewed who had raised issues internally and with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before the 737 MAX crashes—and dating back to the 787 Dreamliner, which was introduced in 2007.

Employees complained about debris left inside aircrafts, even as planes were going on test flights and getting ready for delivery, and about missing and doctored defective parts. The reporter describes a company under pressure taking serious safety shortcuts. 

According to U.S. Department of Labor data, whistleblowers have little success. This chart shows a very small percentage of government-reported cases considered of “merit,” although in the table below the chart, the author tells us that cases that are “settled” or “settled other” (a nonstandard procedure) should also be considered winners. Still, it’s a small percentage in light of what it takes to come forward to file a complaint.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of Boeing? Some employees say they felt proud when they first worked at the company, and now they are embarrassed. How, if at all, does this news change your perception of the company?

• What does it take to be a whistleblower? What is at stake, and what are the potential rewards?

• Assess the chart. Who is the audience, and what are the communication objectives? How could you change the chart to improve readability? For example, consider how the 3D effect might change how we interpret the data.

Boeing's Crisis Response

At a shareholder’s meeting, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg addressed 737 Max safety concerns following two fatal crashes. He started, as predicted, with an apology and sympathy for the “loss of life,” acknowledging the “devastation.” He contrasted these losses with the many Boeing flights that run safely—”roughly every 1.5 seconds.”

Muilenburg didn’t explicitly address issues raised in the past couple of days, particularly a Wall Street Journal article the previous day accusing Boeing of failing to report the safety feature shut-off to airlines (including pilots) and the FAA.

When asked during the Q&A about accountability, Muilenburg spoke mostly about plans going forward. When asked whether he would resign, he talked about his and his employees’ commitment to safety.

At about 9:00 on the video, a reporter asks about whistle-blowers at Boeing, referring to recent reports that employees tried to alert senior management and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Muilenburg says the question is “fair” but doesn’t quite respond to the accountability issue. At about 14:15, a reporter asks, “Can you admit that the design was flawed?” This is after Muilenburg skirts the previous question, blaming a “chain of events.” Still, he would not admit to a design flaw.

And then he ends the news conference, as a reporter shouts, “Sir, 346 died. Can you answer a few questions here about that?” Earlier, another reporter noted that this was the first time they had a chance to meet with him to ask questions.

Discussion:

• Assess Muilenburg’s delivery skills. What does he do well, and what suggestions would you have for his future news conferences?

• How well did Muilenburg address reporters’ questions? What, if anything, could he have said differently?

• What leadership character dimensions are illustrated by this story? How well did Muilenburg demonstrate them?

Do Women Apologize Too Much?

The short answer is yes. But the reasons are important. A New York Times writer distinguishes between apologizing as “an acknowledgment of an offense or failure” and other reasons to say “I’m sorry.”

Women are more likely to apologize when it’s not their fault. I was in another woman’s path in a doorway, and she said, “I’m sorry.” She did nothing wrong—and neither did I, but she meant it as a sign of politeness. In these situations, “Excuse me” may be more fitting.

Worse, some women seem to apologize by habit. If I accidentally step on your foot, please don’t apologize. That’s squarely on me.

But apologizes also express sympathy or empathy. The author gives an example of a woman who dropped her bag in a puddle. She said to the woman, “I’m sorry,” and was told not to apologize. But it wasn’t that kind of apology. She really meant, “That’s too bad your bag is all wet,” which is an expression of sympathy. And maybe, “I’ve been there and can relate,” which is closer to empathy. Similarly, we say, “I’m sorry,” as an expression of sympathy when someone dies.

The article references studies published in Psychological Science that conclude, “[M]en apologize less frequently than women because they have a higher threshold for what constitutes offensive behavior.” Good point, but that’s not what all apologies imply. The Times author suggests understanding why you apologize and gives us permission to apologize just for politeness, at times. This may be more expected of women, anyway.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Do you observe women apologizing more than men do? In what situations?

• Write down all of your apologies for a week—in person and in writing. Assess the reason for each. What do you conclude about how and how often you apologize?

• How do apologizes demonstrate accountability as a leadership character dimension?

Philippines Town Bans Gossip

Could this work at companies? Or schools? Binalonan, a small town in the Philippines, passed an ordinance that bans idle gossip. Locals say the summer heat drives people beneath acacia trees to chismis, or gossip. Offenders are charged the equivalent of about $10 and will have to pick up trash if they repeat the crime.

Local officials believe much of the gossip is caused by conflicts, and they are trying to encourage people to resolve differences directly instead. I’m not sure it’s the same in organizations, where people tend to gossip when they have idle time and are missing more meaningful communication from company leaders.

Of course, gossip has a few positive benefits, including increasing our knowledge and understand of others and improving social relationships.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Seriously, could a gossip ban work in companies? What could be the benefits and downsides? How could it be enforced?

• When have you seen gossip used negatively and positively?

• What are, perhaps, better ways to communicate?

• What leadership character dimensions may be failing if we rely too much on gossip?

A Pie Chart Totals 128%

A pie chart represents part of a whole, so how can numbers total more than 100%? They can’t. On Twitter, Dorsa Amir identifies additional problems.

The caption is also concerning: “High Support for Legalizing Marijuana.” Do we see evidence to prove this claim?

Note: This chart was created as a joke and posted on a sub-reddit.

Discussion:

• What is the point of the chart?

• What data would prove the point, and how could the designer have presented data differently?

Carlos Ghosn Responds to Charges

The former CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, who has been arrested four times on charges related to financial misconduct, responded in a video message. The key point: “I’m innocent of all the charges.” Ghosn also claims that accusations are “all biased, taken out of context, twisted.”

Ghosn was a celebrated business executive in Japan. His success in growing Nissan is “incontrovertible,” according to a New York Times podcast. He gained a reputation as a serious cost-cutter ("Le Cost Killer"), a strategy that was questioned at the time but brought about great profits for the company, placing it second in the list of Japanese automakers behind Toyota and ahead of Honda. Ghosn was CEO from 2001 - 2017, when he became chairman. He was then removed from the board in 2018, after his first arrest.

Charges against Ghosn include using company funds for multiple personal residences, hiding about half of his compensation, shifting $16.6 million in person losses to the company, and other accounting issues.

Nissan management responded to Ghosn’s video message:

“The sole cause of this chain of events is the misconduct led by Ghosn and Kelly. Aside from any criminal matters, Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct. This resulted in a unanimous board vote to discharge Ghosn and Kelly as chairman and representative director, followed by a shareholder vote to discharge them from the board. Further discoveries related to Ghosn’s misconduct continue to emerge. The company's focus remains on addressing weaknesses in governance that failed to prevent this misconduct.”

Ghosn image source.

Discussion:

• What persuasive communication strategies does Ghosn demonstrate in his video message?

• What are the most and least convincing statements?

• Assess his Ghosn’s delivery skills.

• Which leadership character dimensions are illustrated by this situation?

Fisher-Price Recall

At first, the company stood by their product, but after 10 infant deaths since 2015, Fisher-Price voluntarily recalled its Rock ‘n Play sleeper. The decision affects 4.7 million products, and the notice is now prominently displayed on the Fisher-Price homepage. When you follow the link, you see the page at right, which lists all “Recall & Safety Alerts.”

The announcement on April 5 points to a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) alert, which suggests that customers stop using the product for infants more than three months old, when they can turn over and suffocate.

The announcement on April 12 is a full recall, which urges customers to “immediately stop using the product” and return it for a refund.

Discussion:

• Analyze the communication situation. Who are the primary and secondary audiences of Fisher-Price’s messages? What information do those audiences need? How might they react emotionally? What are the company’s communication objectives?

• Product recall messages typically follow a particular structure and provide specific content. What do you observe from this message?

• Should Fisher-Price have issued the recall earlier? Why or why not?

Charts About Uber and Lyft

A New York Times article compares Uber and Lyft in four simple charts. As you might expect, Uber leads in bookings and revenue, but it has greater losses and expenses.

The graphics are traditional bar charts, which are horizontal. Although we call vertical graphics bar charts, technically they are column charts. Either way, the charts are easy to read and compare, but can they be improved?

Discussion:

• How else can data about the two companies be compared? For example, would side-by-side bar charts work better? Or vertical instead of horizontal bars?

• Can you think of a way to show all four categories of information in one chart? Would that help understanding or not?

• What other suggestions would you make to the NYT designer?

Boeing's Apology Dilemma

A Yahoo Finance article describes Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg’s decision to apologize for the 737 MAX tragedies and speculates that he may open the company up to lawsuits. However, for crisis communication, his apology is the right decision.

After a report found the planes to blame, Muilenburg admitted, “but with the release of the preliminary report of the Ethiopian Flight 302 accident investigation, it is apparent that in both flights, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, known as MCAS, activated in response to erroneous angle of attack information." He’s not telling us anything we don’t already know, and Boeing will likely get sued anyway.

He also apologized: “We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 accidents and are relentlessly focused on safety to ensure tragedies like this never happen again.” The apology is critical—and too late in my opinion. Research on apologies indicate that they often reduce lawsuits, time to agree on settlements, and settlement pay.

Discussion:

• Do you agree with the assessment that the CEO did the right thing by apologizing?

• How does this situation illustrate vulnerability as a positive leadership character dimension?

• What other character dimensions are illustrated by this situation?

Views About Social Media

Is social media influencing over lives positively or negatively? A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found that Americans see more problems than benefits to society, although 70% of respondents use social media sites every day.

Respondents also don’t have high trust in technology companies, rating the federal government as more trustworthy, with Facebook getting particularly low grades. This is tough news for the tech firms considering Gallup’s research on confidence in institutions. Given a list of 15 institutions, including small business, the police, and the military, Americans have consistently rated Congress last.

Discussion:

• Do these survey results surprise you? Why or why not?

• The Gallup question is different, asking about “confidence” rather than “trust.” Could the wording make a difference in responses? Why or why not?

• Evaluate these Wall Street Journal graphics. How well do they convey the information? What could be improved?

United Changes Rewards Program

United Airlines promises more flexibility and better options for reward travel. In an email to loyalty members, the company summarizes changes.

I’m not sure why they focus on the “award chart,” but that probably means more to a frequent traveler who manages points more closely than I do.

Discussion:

• How clearly and concisely does United communicate the news?

• What else, if anything, should the company include in the message?

Southwest Faces Customer Service Criticism

Despite trading on the NY Stock Exchange under “LUV,” Southwest is taking some heat from customers because of the Boeing 737 MAX plane groundings. According to a USA Today report, customers says Southwest didn’t handle rebookings well:

They're peeved about Southwest's handling of passenger rebookings, especially last-minute flight cancellations that leave them with few options. And they're perplexed by Southwest's uncharacteristic lack of flexibility, with affected passengers given two options: take the alternate flight, even if it's days later or to a different airport, or get a refund.

Our first clue about problems came with Southwest’s first statement about the plane groundings. Little guidance was offered for customers to rebook. The first three comments on a Southwest message posted on March 13 illustrate the problem.

A Southwest spokesman said it’s a challenging situation—like a snow storm that lasts for many weeks—and claimed that the airline did everything it could, including offering "massive flexibility'.'

Discussion:

• Southwest could not have prevented the Boeing 737 MAX disaster, but what about its own customer service situation? What, if anything, could company leaders have done differently?

• How should Southwest react to customers’ complaints now? I see nothing on its website or blog.
  

Boeing System at Fault

According to investigators, the flight-control system caused trouble before the Boeing 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia. The report also concluded that pilots followed procedures and did nothing wrong.

On its website, Boeing posted a video and statement of CEO Dennis Muilenburg’s apology.

April, 4, 2019

We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 MAX accidents. These tragedies continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and minds, and we extend our sympathies to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. All of us feel the immense gravity of these events across our company and recognize the devastation of the families and friends of the loved ones who perished.

The full details of what happened in the two accidents will be issued by the government authorities in the final reports, but, with the release of the preliminary report of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident investigation, it’s apparent that in both flights the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, known as MCAS, activated in response to erroneous angle of attack information.

The history of our industry shows most accidents are caused by a chain of events. This again is the case here, and we know we can break one of those chain links in these two accidents. As pilots have told us, erroneous activation of the MCAS function can add to what is already a high workload environment. It’s our responsibility to eliminate this risk. We own it and we know how to do it.

From the days immediately following the Lion Air accident, we’ve had teams of our top engineers and technical experts working tirelessly in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration and our customers to finalize and implement a software update that will ensure accidents like that of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 never happen again.

We’re taking a comprehensive, disciplined approach, and taking the time, to get the software update right. We’re nearing completion and anticipate its certification and implementation on the 737 MAX fleet worldwide in the weeks ahead. We regret the impact the grounding has had on our airline customers and their passengers.

This update, along with the associated training and additional educational materials that pilots want in the wake of these accidents, will eliminate the possibility of unintended MCAS activation and prevent an MCAS-related accident from ever happening again.

We at Boeing take the responsibility to build and deliver airplanes to our airline customers and to the flying public that are safe to fly, and can be safely flown by every single one of the professional and dedicated pilots all around the world. This is what we do at Boeing.

We remain confident in the fundamental safety of the 737 MAX. All who fly on it—the passengers, flight attendants and pilots, including our own families and friends—deserve our best. When the MAX returns to the skies with the software changes to the MCAS function, it will be among the safest airplanes ever to fly.

We’ve always been relentlessly focused on safety and always will be. It’s at the very core of who we are at Boeing. And we know we can always be better. Our team is determined to keep improving on safety in partnership with the global aerospace industry and broader community. It’s this shared sense of responsibility for the safety of flight that spans and binds us all together.

I cannot remember a more heart-wrenching time in my career with this great company.  When I started at Boeing more than three decades ago, our amazing people inspired me. I see how they dedicate their lives and extraordinary talents to connect, protect, explore and inspire the world — safely. And that purpose and mission has only grown stronger over the years.

We know lives depend on the work we do and that demands the utmost integrity and excellence in how we do it. With a deep sense of duty, we embrace the responsibility of designing, building and supporting the safest airplanes in the skies. We know every person who steps aboard one of our airplanes places their trust in us. 

Together, we’ll do everything possible to earn and re-earn that trust and confidence from our customers and the flying public in the weeks and months ahead.

Again, we’re deeply saddened by and are sorry for the pain these accidents have caused worldwide. Everyone affected has our deepest sympathies.

Dennis Muilenburg
Chairman, President & CEO
The Boeing Company

Discussion:

• Analyze Boeing’s communications so far. After the report was published, who were the primary and secondary audiences for these messages? What are the company’s communication objectives, and to what extent were they achieved?

• What’s your view of the timing? Should the CEO have communicated via video and statement earlier or wait, as he did, for the investigation report results to be published?

• What leadership character dimensions are demonstrated by this situation?
  

Fewer Men Wear Suits

Mens’ wardrobes are getting more casual, with khakis, sports jackets, jeans, and even stretch fabrics more the norm. Retailers like Jos. A. Banks and Tailored Brands are struggling to keep up. A Wall Street Journal article quotes the chairman of Tailored Brands

We have just not kept pace with an evolving customer,” Tailored Brands Chairman Dinesh Lathi told analysts earlier this month, adding that the company was in the “earliest stages” of trying to find the right balance between suits and more casual attire.

With diversity increasingly valued at work, people want to express themselves, and employers are giving them permission to do so.

Group image source. Individual image source.

Discussion:

• How do clothes reflect your authenticity—who you are?

• What would you wear to an interview with a company where people regularly wear jeans?

• Should retailers have been smarter about predicting customer preferences, or is this trend too difficult to assess?

FreshDirect Message to Customers

FreshDirect sent an email to customers in Westchester County, NY, describing new products and services. This is an example of a positive message—and is a good break from the mistakes, apologies, and tragedies over the past couple of weeks.

Dear Laura,

Everything we do at FreshDirect is driven by our mission of making the best-tasting, freshest food easy to get for you, our valued customers. We know that you care deeply about feeding your family the very best food and to make that easier than ever before we're announcing a series of new service enhancements that will provide you with an even better shopping experience.

We work around YOUR schedule

• Starting March 25, we will offer SAME DAY DELIVERY which enables you to place an order up to 10am, for delivery starting at 5pm the same day. Same day deliveries are also included for free in your DeliveryPass.

• We are extending the cut-off time in your area to 9pm, allowing you to edit and place your order further into the evening, for deliveries starting 7am or later the next day.

• We have added significantly more availability to delivery time slots. In fact, if there is a specific delivery time slot that you want that is full, simply call 1 (866) 283-7374 or visit FreshDirect.com to chat with a customer service agent, and we will open one up for you – either in that specific window, or the window immediately before or after.

When we say we'll be there on time, we'll be there on time

• We have significantly expanded both our delivery fleet and team, so you can count on us to ALWAYS deliver your food on time.

• We are so confident in our delivery team that if you ever need to contact us about a late delivery, we will credit the delivery fee for that order AND your next order. For DeliveryPass customers we'll extend your DeliveryPass for TWO weeks.

We have a growing selection of the very best food

• We have added over 400 new items to our offering over the last 2 months.

• We are adding hundreds of high-quality, specially-sourced new items every month during the spring and summer. In the next month alone, we will be adding your most requested brands like Spindrift, Caulipower and Pampers Pure.

• Our team of chefs has been busy creating exciting meal solutions including ready-to-heat entrees, meal kits, salads & grain bowls, fresh bakery goods and more, with 5-10 new items available every month. As always, we're committed to sourcing the cleanest possible ingredients for you and your family.

We guarantee our freshness

• Our new state-of-the-art home enables us to consistently offer and deliver the highest quality food. We believe so strongly in the quality of our food that we're offering a 100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE – if you receive anything from us that doesn't live up to your expectations, we will refund you or redeliver the same day, no questions asked.

We make it right for you

• Mistakes happen, and when they do, we want the opportunity to go above and beyond in showing you how much we value you. If an item is missing or damaged, or you are unhappy with the quality of something, we will of course provide a refund, but what we really strive to do instead is get a perfect replacement product back to you that same day. Just call 1 (866) 283-7374 or visit FreshDirect.com to chat with our customer service team and they'll take care of it.

• We empower our customer service team to go above and beyond to fix any issues you may face, but there are rare occasions when customer service may not be able to resolve things to your total satisfaction. I still want the opportunity to make that right. Please reach out to me at david@freshdirect.com and we'll swarm the issue to quickly find a way to make you happy.

Finally, we want to invite you to a behind-the-scenes tour of our new headquarters, which may be the most amazing food hive in the world. On the tour you'll get to meet our team of food experts, see how your orders come together, and sample some of the best food and drink we have to offer. You'll be hearing more from me about this opportunity to visit us and how to sign up in the coming weeks, but to whet your appetite, here is a short video of a similar event that we recently hosted.

We hope you found this information valuable and we look forward to providing the very best food to you and your family for years to come.

Sincerely,

David McInerney
CEO & Co-Founder of FreshDirect

Discussion:

• Analyze the message. Who are the primary and secondary audiences? What are the communication objectives? How is the email organized? What is the writing style? How would you describe the tone?

• What business writing principles are followed?

• What works best about the message, and what would you suggest that the CEO change?

• In what ways does this message illustrate integrity?

New Zealand Announces Weapons Ban

Following a shooting at a mosque in Christchurch that left 50 people dead, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a ban on certain types of weapons:

“Today, I’m announcing New Zealand will ban all military-style semiautomatic weapons. We will also ban all assault rifles. We will ban all high-capacity magazines. We will ban all parts with the ability to convert semiautomatic or any other type of firearm into a military-style semiautomatic weapon. We will ban parts that cause a firearm to generate semiautomatic, automatic or close-to-automatic gunfire,” she added. “In short, every semiautomatic weapon used in the terror attack on Friday will be banned in this country.”

She said the decision would accomplish one goal: “to prevent an act of terror from happening in our country ever again.” In a press conference three days prior, the prime minister had promised that the Cabinet planned to take action.

The New York Times compares the process for buying a gun in 16 countries, showing the United States as having the fewest steps.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of the decision and how Prime Minister Arden communicated it to the public?

• What leadership character dimensions does the Prime Minister demonstrate in this situation?

• Watch Prime Minister Arden’s press conference and one or two others. How would you describe her delivery style?

Southwest Responds to Boeing 737 Grounding

Southwest sent an email to customers about the grounding of Boeing 737 planes following two crashes.

The message, which is also posted on the Southwest website, expresses sympathy for the lives lost and emphasizes safety as the top priority, yet touts the 737. What remains unclear is the effect on passengers. At the end of the website, Southwest could be clearer about what passengers should do now:

I realize this disruption will inconvenience our Customers during this busy spring travel season, and we will do everything in our power to mitigate the impact to our operation. For that, I offer my sincere apologies. To support our Customers, we are offering flexible rebooking policies for any Customer booked on a canceled flight.

Nothing is more sacred to all of our Southwest Family Members than the trust our Customers place in our airline every day, on every flight. You have our commitment to minimize the disruptions to our Customers’ travel plans, while adhering to the FAA’s requirements and ensuring the Safety of our fleet.

Southwest may have received feedback because additional text is included in a box at the bottom of the page:

Until further notice, you will not be traveling on a 737 MAX 8. Our goal is to operate our schedule with every available aircraft in our fleet to meet our Customers’ expectations during the busy spring travel season.

Due to high call volumes and extended hold times, we strongly encourage Customers to check their flight status at Southwest.com.

For more information, see the 737 MAX 8 Travel Advisory.

The last link, the 737 MAX 8 Travel Advisory, doesn’t seem to clarify. The company was also criticized for the image on “A message from our CEO.”

SW plane image.

Discussion:

• Analyze the Southwest messages. Who are the primary and secondary audiences, and what are the communication objectives? Assess the organization and writing style.

• How could Southwest improve its communication to customers? Do you agree that the messages for affected customers could be clearer? For example, how do they know whether they’re booked on a 737, and what should they do if they are?

• In Southwest’s later messages, the woman’s image is omitted. Should Gary Kelly’s photo be placed there instead? Why or why not?

OurBus Handles a Mistake with Humor

OurBus sent an email with a link that wasn’t yet working and quickly corrected the mistake with some fun. The company offered a $7 discount for rides booked on St. Patrick’s Day and corrected the link with the subject line, “Our Bad. That code doesn't quite work yet...”

In the first email, the date is clearly March 17, but the subject line, “It's your lucky day. Our flash sale starts NOW,” is certainly deceiving.

Discussion:

• Assess the second message from OurBus. How well did the company handle the situation? What changes would you suggest? (Hint: alignment.)

• Are people still saying “my bad”? Did they intend to play on “OurBus” with “Our bad”? If so, would it have been better to write, “OurBad”?

• Which leadership character dimensions does this situation illustrate?