ANOTHER AVOIDABLE MISUNDERSTANDING!

It seems as though a week cannot go by without yet another example of somebody somewhere getting something horribly wrong and being forced to clean up a mess, apologize and/or lose credibility. And why do these things happen? Perhaps the person tried to do something too quickly (pushed on, quite possibly, by a desire to meet an impossible deadline imposed by an unthinking superior or client), maybe they didn’t think it necessary to slow down and check the details? Whatever happened, the person or persons concerned probably wish they could go back in time and avoid the “faux-pas.”

This week’s story comes from the USA. A friendly football match – whatever that is – was about to start in Maryland between El Salvador and Argentina. A large crow was present, at least 50,000. The players lined up to hear and sing their respective national anthem. And then…OOPS!

For once, the incident was not caused by the players’ tuneless rendition of the anthem, nor had they forgotten the words…although these things do happen frequently. Quite bizarrely, the music played in honour of El Salvador was, in fact, the anthem for…the Isle of Man!

(see http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-32115112)

To be honest, I didn’t know that the Isle of Man had a football team, even less a national anthem! I associate it more with the Tynwald Parliament first set up by the Vikings, the tailless Manx cats (whose back legs are longer than the front ones!)… and a few (possibly tax-avoiding) offshore businesses!

So what went wrong in Maryland?

According to CMS Sports who had organized this event, they had failed to check which anthem was to be played, and, somehow, Ellan Vannin (Manx for Isle of Man) was confused with El Salvador. Apologies were made, but the damage was done!

As I frequently say to my clients, there is no excuse for confusing haste with speed. If you really do value your clients, it’s necessary to prove it, not just say it.

A couple of simple guidelines to remember, try out and trust...

take the time to check you have understood their request, the context, the action required and whatever else is involved.
if in doubt…stop; ask questions, reformulate what you have understood and validate the message. No client will object to being treated as a VIP, and if you show you are keen to check their request because it is important to you, they will see that you really do value them.

In short: Assume Nothing – Validate Everything…Question, Reformulate, Validate.

This might take a few minutes, but it could prove a useful investment; and it should avoid time-consuming damage limitation meetings in the immediate future.

And maybe, just to make amends, CMS Sports should organize a friendly between El Salvador and the Isle of Man with all the players singing both anthems…

isle of man