TWINTEL Solutions

Flicker Photo: Ben_Smith _UK

Have you been living under a rock recently? Probably not, so you've surely heard of -- and probably even gotten sick of -- the hub-bub over "Antenna-gate". For those of you who haven't been caught up in the story (lucky you!), it's actually quite familiar, and the nonprofit sector can certainly find a few key takeaways.  Here's what happened:

• June 24 - Apple releases the iPhone 4 into the world in its most successful product launch to date. 
• June 26 - Complaints about antennae problems start to pour in. 
• July 2 - Apple blames the software. 
• SILENCE
• July 16 - Apple holds a press conference, delcares that there will be free cases for all (that's the fix) and Steve Jobs says "It's not like Apple has had its head in the sand on this. It's only been 22 days."

There are two ways to look at that response. First, the nerd in me can somewhat respect IT. Technical problems aren't always easy to fix. You have to replicate the problem -- and not just once, but consistently. You have to diagnose the problem -- is it the hardware, the software, or how they interact? -- and then come up with a fix you can actually deploy. Twenty-two days is a short time frame for a significant challenge like this. I can accept that a problem might take 22 days to fix.

But the leader in me finds that statement appalling, insulting even. I would bet most iPhone 4 users (I'm not one of them) would gladly wait 22 days for a solution -- if someone would kindly tell them what's going on!

A simple "We think it's this, we're investigating", would have been enough to buy Apple some goodwill and time. Better yet, the company should have acknowledged consumer concerns as valid, showing those irate customers that they were being heard, generating even more goodwill and time.

Good communication -- context and listening -- are essential in managing any kind of change or crisis. Would your donors wait 22 days to find out where their money went? Would they ever give again if you made them?  Would your staff stand to wait 22 days for you to fix that critical database error with no communication from you? Would you have a job much longer if you made them wait that long with no response?

We live in a new world, where people simply will not wait 22 days for answers. We need to be more responsive than ever. I'm certainly not saying we have to fix every problem as quickly as possible -- we do have to take as much time as we need to get the right answers -- but we can't afford do it in silence.