Comments on: What to do when “you’re doing it wrong” goes wrong

By: Diane Court

Diane Court — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:20:40 +0000

Yuck gook – because I wrote it in a Blackberry note, sent it to myself then cut-and-pasted it here? The Rube Goldberg method Sorry bout that & thanks!
Can you care too much when the cause is good? At least we can step back, when they can’t, and still be there prepared when they ask, “what next?

By: that damn redhead

that damn redhead — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:05:08 +0000

I had to go in and delete a bunch of weird code-y gobbledygook I’m not sure how it got in your comment, but rest assured, it’s gone now.

I know what you mean. I think my problem is that sometimes I care too much, and that’s why these kind of things frustrate me.

By: that damn redhead

that damn redhead — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:01:34 +0000

LOL! You’re welcome!

By: Diane Court

Diane Court — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:33:23 +0000

It’s especially frustrating when we really do care about the organization, want to save them trial-and-error costs, want them to succeed. When we really have seen the train wreck coming:
Sometimes their decision has unfavorable consequences that the alternative would have avoided, but still recoverable after the fact, and even a “fail” might be, in a larger scheme organizationally, a necessary step. The next step, post-mortem, has more than once revealed the previously hidden drivers behind their decision (HOW many times had I asked… just-not-quite-the-right questions?), a huge asset in subsequent program planning.
Sometimes, not so amazingly and with no acknowledgement their next plan incorporates your earlier proposals. That may be the highest form of appreciation and recognition, confirmation of trust and an even stronger relationship.

By: Gwynne Kostin

Gwynne Kostin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:44:33 +0000

You asked: Ever had that kind of situation?
My answer: Yes.
Thanks for the post.

By: that damn redhead

that damn redhead — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:05:37 +0000

@Ari I conceded to your first point above in my response to Beth, in which I said "I think what we forget oftentimes is that much of social media is subjective, and what works for one may not work for another, and vice-versa."

As to your second point of "the only way some people can learn to ride a bike is by falling down," . . . that was the point I was trying to make in the post. So I guess I agree with you on both fronts!

By: Ari Herzog

Ari Herzog — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:55:40 +0000

Might someone not be wrong?
I grasp your point, Stacy, but who are you to say you’re right and Jill is wrong? Her methods may not be the way you’d do it, but don’t assume because a nail doesn’t have a point it won’t stick in the wood, for I can take the nail and staple-gun the top of it or secure the block with duck tape.
Jill’s methods may be deviant to popular opinion, but the only way some people can learn to ride a bike is by falling down.

By: that damn redhead

that damn redhead — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:58:03 +0000

@Beth - You're right, we don't always know for sure; we only know what we've seen and what we've experienced ourselves. I think what we forget oftentimes is that much of social media is subjective, and what works for one may not work for another, and vice-versa. As time goes on, "best practices" are emerging, but there will always be those anomalies of a person or company implementing a certain tactic successfully that by all of our "laws" (for lack of better term) dictate would (should?) fail. Yet those instances are few and far between, which is why they stand out as exceptions. Our problem is that we just never know when that's going to happen, but unfortunately, so many cases are so very textbook no-nos that it's almost routine for us to smack our foreheads!

By: Beth Harte

Beth Harte — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:20:35 +0000

I think we’ve all been here…sometimes it’s just so hard to walk away knowing what’s going to happen before it does. How can they possibly turn their backs on a crystal ball, right?! It seems crazy at the time.

I think the other thing that we have to consider is that we all have had different educations, experiences and successes/failures…all of that plays into the experiences you are describing. While we’d love to say “No! My way is the right way and you’re going to fail…” we can’t because we don’t always know that for sure.

Reading blogs and people’s comments, tweets, statues, etc. gives me those insights…because you never know when the crystal ball might be a little bit cracked.

Beth Harte
Community Manager, MarketingProfs
@bethharte

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Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:18:10 +0000

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