A crisis creates a vacuum, an informational void that gets filled one way or another. The longer a company or other organisation at the centre of the crisis waits to communicate, the more likely that void will be filled by critics.On Mar 10, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302outside Addis Ababa shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 passengers on board. This was the second Boeing 737 Max to crash in fewer than four months, putting the total death toll at almost 350 people.
For two days, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg insisted the 737 Max planes were safe, even as country after country grounded the aircraft. Then on Mar 13 when the Federal Aviation Administration eventuallyBut other than these statements and two tweets from Muilenburg, Boeing’s leadership has been silent.Silence is passive and suggests that an organisation is neither in control nor trying to take control of a situation. Silence allows others to frame the issues and control the narrative.
Ground crew members escort a Boeing 737 MAX as it returns from a flight test at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, on Jan 29, 2016. And the few statements it has issued are chock-full of platitudes – such as “safety is a core value” – and lack meaningful information. In its statement after the FAA grounded the 737 Max, Boeing suggested it was complying “out of an abundance of caution.” But Boeing didn’t have a choice. The decision was made.Boeing is now on the defensive and, going forward, will have to counter the damaging narrative circulating in the court of public opinion. It has its work cut out for it.
Rather than wait for lawmakers or investigators to get to the bottom of things, which could be devastating for Boeing, the airplane manufacturer should collect all the relevant information and disclose as much as possible, however damaging.