Tricky Situations: United Breaks Guitars

Michael Dearing

Social media offers the entire world a front-row seat to your company’s greatest victories and defeats. And the defeats feel particularly awful when the world is watching. United Airlines faced exactly this situation when baggage handlers destroyed several guitars in full view of the musicians who owned them. The resulting Twitter uproar damaged an already struggling company’s image. Let’s discuss what happened and what great managers and leaders could have done about it.