Damage Control, In Advance

Webster's defines Control as: “To exercise authority or influence over; To hold in restraint.”



Why do business people like the term “damage control”? Possibly because it makes us feel like we have the power to change the impact of undesirable circumstances. It has a safe sound to it...damage control...as if all will be well after we control the damage. We all want control over our lives, our careers, our companies, and to be the masters of our own destinies unimpeded by external forces or the wills of others.



Yet, at times, external forces do get in our way, especially lately, and we must rectify those situations. So, most often we rely on our ability to do damage control...there's that term again. Some companies operate in a constant state of damage control, and treat that approach as an everyday method of conducting business, as a means to protect themselves. Such companies often believe that if they are able to minimize the immediate affect of damage, they will have essentially eliminated the damage. Do we really believe that?



If someone was to punch you in the mouth, and then attempted to placate you, after a while you might calm down and eventually the physical pain you experienced would subside, and you might even forgive that person. But, simply because the person who hit you spun a story and provided you with reasons, justifications, and apologies for his or her actions, would you simply forget the incident? Would you go about your business as if nothing had happened? Would you be just as pleased to maintain a relationship or do business with that person again as you did before he or she gave you a right cross and a fat lip?


If you were hit in the mouth, wouldn't that incident and its negative energy stay with you, at least for a while? Would you wonder why it happened in the first place? Wouldn't you want answers? Wouldn't you want to make up your own mind as to the likelihood of your receiving another swollen jaw in the future, and possibly losing some teeth? Of course you would! But, while you would certainly ask yourself these questions, you might not vocalize them. As a result of your apparent contemplative silence, your assailant, who did plenty of damage control after he or she realized that you might no longer stay friends or do business with them, might figure that silence is golden and that all would be well. Yet, you would know that all would NOT be well.



Why do so many companies position themselves to do damage control after a negative event occurs? Why don't they, instead, prepare for damage control in advance, and actually do it before anything dangerous occurs? Do those companies believe that nothing could go wrong, that they are so good, so perfect, that they might not make a mistake? Why not do damage control before the event occurs by ensuring it doesn't happen? Or, if it is inevitable, then address it before it gets out of hand, don't just explain it away.



Successful executives are truly focused on their customers, business partners, shareholders, and employees, and don't wait to do damage control after the fact. They anticipate the down-side effect of their actions before they proceed. They don't hold their breath in the hopes that the wall won't cave in on them and their customers, they shore up that wall long before their customers (and their relationships with those customers) are in jeopardy. If they must do damage control, they do so well in advance of a negative event actually occurring. They conduct Damage Control in Advance.



Damage Control in Advance actually brings companies, whether they are service providers, sellers of products, or otherwise, much closer to those people who are important to them, their customers, employees, partners, and others. Conducting Damage Control in Advance let's their customers and others know, in advance, how events could impact them and their relationship, and prepares them. Damage Control in Advance makes it very clear that the service provider is thinking about their customer, is concerned about them, and wishes not only to preserve the relationship, but to bring the customer into an important conversation early on, and into the decision-making process, itself. Damage Control in Advance not only elevates communication between people, but it brings about greater collaboration, as well as, strengthens relationships on both personal and business levels.



Damage Control in Advance is an honest, up-front, simple, and intelligent approach to solving problems before they become unsolvable and create irreparable damage.