Jason Owens

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Taking Responsibility for Technical Mistakes

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Mistakes happen. No matter how much training, experience, or process controls we have in place it’s still possible to misconfigure, bring down a system, or cause a customer to go down unexpectedly. And it feels horrible, that sinking feeling in your stomach as you start to realize what happened.

Unless you’re working with an engineering-centric organization that understands the all technical issues involved in the problem as well as you understand them, as an engineer you probably have the additional challenge of translating and clearly communicating what happened, especially to non-technical parties.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

  • Have a good relationship with your customers and coworkers to begin with. Far too often there are antagonistic relationships between IT and Business, Engineering and Sales, etc. Develop trust and a good working relationship so that when there are issues you can address them together.
  • Take responsibility. Don’t blame other people or the situation. If you did it, be accountable.
  • Be clear and concise, and explain the issue in a way that makes sense to your audience. Don’t use a lot of technical jargon and details. At best your victims will be confused and frustrated, or worse you’ll seem like you’re being dishonest.
  • State the solution. Whether the issue is fixed or about to be, explain what the resolution to the situation is.
  • Deliver the message in the most effective and appropriate way possible. An email might not be the best way to communicate the apology. You may need to be on the phone or deliver the message in person.
  • Ask for feedback. It’s an opportunity for the other party to express concerns or items you may have not considered, and it’s a chance for you to become a better engineer.

And remember, the point of the apology is not to be absolved of any wrongdoing. If you screwed up, fix up, get up, fess up.

Photo by Anderson Mancini under CC license.

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Long live Tommy

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This post is a little different from my usual ones. It still applies to project management, security, business, productivity. Last week I went to a funeral. Tommy Kuehn was 24 when he died. I had been his next-door neighbor, and essentially got to watch him grow up. The service was held during the worst snowstorm this winter yet. What was normally a 1 hour drive took almost 2 1/2. As I watched cars disappear into the drifts and snow of the storm, spinning out of control on the interstate, I had a lot of time to think.

Start at the end to get to the beginning. While I was driving I happened to be listening to a podcast about “assumptive goal planning.” I think I’ll write a post about it in the future, but the point is rather than figuring out what you need to do to improve process, be productive, boost sales, etc. and then try to make your numbers, think about where you’d want to be at the end of the goal. Think about what you could say about what you did, or what you accomplished, such as “we improved customer retention rates by 15%.” By thinking about the future and putting yourself in the future, you help avoid the mental block of figuring out everything that you’re going to do in order to get to your goal. You work backwards, distilling down objectives and tasks, until you end up the roadmap.

Back to Tommy. I don’t remember who said (paraphrasing) “if you want to know how to live your life, think about what you want people to say about you at your funeral and work backwards.” Tommy was a really great kid. I say kid because that’s how I still think of him, even though he was really grown. He had an infectious personality, grinning, smiling, always willing to help, intelligent, and positive. He died suddenly of bacterial meningitis in a matter of days.

So remember, terrible storm. Snow everywhere, slick roads, no visibility. Monday morning.

Conservatively there were 500 people at Tommy’s funeral. His mom told me that they had the showing the day before. It was at the funeral home up the street where he had learned to ride his bike in the parking lot when he was little. She said there were so many people that showed up, they had to shut the doors near the end. There was a line outside and people stood in the cold to pay their respects. In a very short amount time Tommy made a very large and positive impact on a lot of people. Unfortunately, I’m left wondering what he could’ve accomplished had he not died so young.

But here’s the point. What do you want to be when you grow up? Are you happy with your current job? Are you loyal to your job or to your profession? Are you producing the work or the results that you want to? Whether you’re a project manager, engineer, security professional, a leader, or manager, what is the impression you want to make? What do you want your legacy to be?

It was never too early to start thinking about your future accomplishments through yesterday’s reactions for tomorrow’s past.

Long live Tommy.

Photo by saturdave under CC license.

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How To Apologize

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There is an art to delivering a sincere and effective apology. Whether the issue is related to a security breach, customer service, management, or personal relationships, a true apology can go a long way towards recovering from what might be an otherwise destroyed relationship.

I think it’s safe to say most of us have experienced poor customer service interactions or less than sincere “scripted” responses to problems. Failure to take responsibility and address concerns in a professional, consistent, and honest manner is the fastest way to lose business, customers, and friends.

In most cases, you’re better off making an honest effort to repair the damage. Don’t see it as a matter of pride or losing control; you’re taking charge of the situation and can take pride in doing the right thing. Here are some tips on how to make an effective apology.

When Apologizing, Take Responsibility.

When you take responsibility, really do so. Don’t blame staff, other parties, or “unforeseen circumstances” for what happened. If you’re a manager and one of your employees acted unprofessionally, don’t point the finger at them. If you’re a service provider and some poor third-party applications were to blame, don’t shift blame. Doing so smacks of insincerity and can backfire as well. If you’re a leader, what your team does is ultimately your responsibility.

Communicate, Relate, and Paraphrase.

True communication involves the exchange and establishment of a common understanding of a thing. Communicate to the other party what your understanding of what it is they are upset with, how it has affected them, and what the impact is. And confirm that your assumptions are correct. See future postings about effective communication and means of testing understanding.

In the Apology, State the Solution.

It’s not enough to take responsibility and understand where the other party is coming from. You need to communicate what you will be doing or have done to rectify the situation. This can involve both a short-term and long-term solution. You will again want to make sure that what you’re proposing is truly a fix for the problem from the other party’s perspective.

Consider the Means of Communication when Apologizing.

Different types of communication are appropriate for different circumstances. Consider the gravity of the situation, how the other party might prefer the apology to be delivered or what they might consider as insincere. A phone call or face-to-face meeting might be more appropriate than an email or letter. More than 50% of communication consists of non-verbal queues as well, so be cognizant of body language and eye contact ( as well as potential cultural issues.)

After the Apology, Ask For Feedback.

Asking for feedback at the end of the apology provides a means to again confirm understandings, reinforce sincerity, and provide opportunity to make additional improvements. It also provides an opportunity to follow up in the future to check on th relationship and if the proposed solution has been effective at solving addressing the problem.

Examples of Apologies.

An Example of a Good Apology.

A phone call. “Hi Joe, I am the manager responsible for the help desk staff. My understanding is that we did not treat you in a professional manner last night when you called with a systems problem. I am sorry for that. How you were treated was not appropriate and the team acknowledges that. I’ve ordered a replacement part for you already and had it shipped express to you. Oh, you received it already? That was fast, good to hear. Was it the correct part? I also wanted you to know that we’re reviewing with staff what our expectations are and what we consider to be the appropriate process to address customer issues like the one you’ve experienced, and will be reviewing our process quarterly. We understand that the outage you experienced left your business in a difficult position and we absolutely don’t want to put you through that again. Have we been able to solve the problem, and is there anything else that we should do in the future to help make sure we don’t do this again?”

An Example of a Bad Apology.

An email. “Dear Mr. Anderson, We understand you submitted a complaint that you recently experienced poor customer service and/or were unsatisfied with the resolution of your issue. While we do strive to delight our customers, we do recognize that we can’t make everyone happy all the time. Please know that we are trying to add staff to our help desk, but given the current economy that effort may be delayed. We appreciate your business. In the future, please feel free to call our support desk for help or visit the computer manufacturer’s website directly, and we look forward to serving you. Thank You.”

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