What we can learn from Apple’s Antenna-gate
Steve Jobs this morning gathered interested media organisations together and held a press conference about the iPhone 4′s antenna problems.
The presentation lasted around 30 minutes and these are some lessons all presenters can learn about having to give difficult and sometimes unpleasant news about a product or a business:
1. Admit there is a problem.
Steve Jobs came clean. He admitted straight away there was a problem. He said “We’re not perfect. We know that, you know that”. He explained the problem, showed the date of the tests that Apple had carried out and admitted that Apple knew that there was a problem before the launch.
2. Accept responsibility
Unlike BP, who refused to accept blame, Steve Jobs accepted blame immediately. By admitting the blame he was able to stop the ‘rumourmongering’ essentially with one sentence.
3. Show the data – in a simple way
By showing simple data, Steve Jobs was able to communicate to all customers, not just the tech savvy customers. Too often companies try to hide behind complex data that nobody but PH.D scientists can understand. This does not clear up the problem, it adds to the problem. Focus on simple data that explains the problem.
4. Say what you are going to do about it
This is perhaps the most important part. You must state very clearly what you will do about the problem and, more importantly, when. When you come up with a solution to the problem, the solution must be customer centred and not damage limitation centred – which sadly is what most companies try to do.
5. Make it Personal
Throughout the whole presentation, there was a deep feeling that Steve Jobs was taking this issue personally. Not in the BP CEO’s “personal way” (“I just want my life back”) but in a way that it hurt him personally that his customers were not happy and that he, and his engineers, were working round the clock to solve the problem. This kind of personalisation of the problem give your customers a feeling that you are with them and on their side.
There are hundreds of examples of successes and failures when it comes to companies and problems. Two of the most recent PR disasters are Toyota and BP, but this one, in my humble opinion, will go down as a successfully handled problem.
Remember, giving bad news is something that most companies will have to do at some point or another. Being able to present bad news in a clear and understandable way is the first step. Accept responsibility and tell everyone what you are going to do about it. And above all else – tell your customers you love them.
You can view the whole presentation here
This is another point of view on the Jobs’ response on the Apple’s Antenna-gate.
Some say that Apple changed its face to irresponsible showman with cunny numbers.
What do you say?
I omit the address. :-0
The one I mentioned above comment is …
http://pxdux.tistory.com/191
Hi SJ, thanks for you comment.
I don’t know about the numbers, or where the numbers come from. The point of the blog post is really to show how to deal with a crisis and how to present the information. If the information is incorrect, and if Apple did l lie about the numbers, then that would be very bad and I certainly would not recommend people to lie in order to handle a crisis.
Once again, thank you for your comment.
Hi Carl,
Jobs’ Antenna-gate presentation goes against your suggestion no. 2 and 3.
Your suggestion no. 2 is ‘Accept responsibility’.
-> Mr. Jobs tries to blur the problem mentioning other phone makers do have same signal problems. This is neither a desirable attitude for a presenter nor a good showcase for your suggestion.
And your suggestion no. 3 is ‘Show the data – in a simple way’.
-> Mr. Jobs’ data was simple. But it was mentioned only to blur the case AGAIN. The numbers on the screen seem simple enough to convince the not-tech-savvy people. However, those data are not that simple enough to convince the people who can read it. Then, what is the meaning of ‘SIMPLE’?
I guess that the point is this: Jobs’ presentation this time was not enough to be a good case to show how to make a desirable presentation when you deliver bad news. I think we have to do opposite way of Jobs’ presentation.
….
By the way, I was just … sorry to see an undesirable showcase in a gorgeous blog like this. I happened to stop by here while reading my favorite blog ( http://bruprin.tistory.com/352 ) and got surprised to see a number of good writings on PRESENTATION here in Korea.
Anyway, thanks for your warm reply.
Hi SJ,
I guess my point in number 2 was that Steve Job’s confessed “We’re not perfect” – this was in direct contrast to the way Toyota and BP tried to handle their problems. Admitting that you are not perfect is something that is desirable, yet sadly, very rare for companies to do.
In number 3 – too often companies try to “blur” statistics by showing complex data that non-technical people either don’t understand, or don’t care to even try to understand. Apple understands this very well. The majority of their users do not care about the technical details, most just want it to do what “it says on the box” – thus by showing data simplistically it resonates with the average iPhone user.
Thank you very much for your interesting point of view. It is always appreciated.