Leadership Lessons from Apple’s iPhone 4 Gaffe, Part 1

For the last couple of weeks I have been following the much-publicized story of the iPhone 4′s antenna issue. (If you haven’t been following this, here is a story from July 15, and another from July 16.) What began as a minor story about some problems with the new iPhone’s antenna reception quickly grew into a public-relations nightmare. This was bad news for a company that prides itself on innovative products, customer service and a “cool factor” of 10. The saga has been an interesting study in leadership and crisis management. I have also enjoyed following it because I am looking forward to replacing my Blackberry with an iPhone when my Sprint contract is up later this year, and wanted to see how Apple would address this potentially troublesome issue.

Yesterday, Apple confronted the issue head-on by holding a press conference. You can find a direct link to the video here on Apple’s website. The video is a little over 30 min., but if you have the time, it’s pretty interesting.

Here are a few leadership lessons we can take away from Apple’s handling of this crisis:

1. Don’t be condescending. When the antenna issue first came to light less than a month ago, Steve Jobs’ response was basically, “You’re holding the phone the wrong way.” This seemed to be an arrogant and condescending reply to people who were experiencing real reception problems with a rather expensive phone. (It doesn’t help that many iPhone customers already have problems with their AT&T service.) Apple also pointed to a faulty formula they had been using to calculate signal strength. Neither of these explanations curtailed the public perception that Apple seemed annoyed by people pointing out a problem with their hallmark device.

When people point out legitimate problems that lie within our areas of responsibility, it only makes matters worse when we get annoyed and treat them as if they’re stupid. Especially if they’re paying good money for something we’re providing.

2. Deal with the issue quickly and directly. Here is where Apple turned it around (or at least attempted to). The company held a press conference yesterday (see link above) and Steve Jobs addressed the iPhone issues directly. Apple probably could have addressed the issues a little sooner before the problems got out of hand, but as Jobs explained in the press conference, they wanted to have their facts straight first.

People appreciate a leader who is not afraid to deal head-on with problems. When we sweep problems under the rug, people get suspicious very quickly and trust in the leaders goes out the window. In crisis moments, people assume the worst when they hear nothing from the leader.

3. Admit your mistakes. I loved it when Steve Jobs simply said, “We’re not perfect.” In that moment, a huge computer company suddenly became human. He admitted there were problems with the iPhone’s antenna, although they had been greatly blown out of proportion. In this moment Apple seemed to be more concerned with helping solve the problems than with their image.

Everyone appreciates a leader who is honest about their failures. When we make a mistake, we should apologize and try to make it right. This sounds so simple, but seems to be so rare.

Check back tomorrow for a few more leadership lessons from this story!

Questions: Do you think Apple handled this situation correctly? What other lessons can leaders take away from this story?