Dealing with an Angry Public The Mutual Gains Approach To Resolving Disputes

by Field, Patrick; Susskind, Lawrence

• ISBN13: 9781451627350
• ISBN10: 1451627351
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-08
• Publisher: Free Press

Summary

Some portion of the American public will react negatively to almost any new corporate initiative, as Disney discovered when it announced its plans to build an historical theme park in Virginia. Similarly, government efforts to change policy or shift budget priorities are invariably met with stiff resistance. In this enormously practical book, Lawrence Susskind and Patrick Field analyze scores of both private and public-sector cases, as well as crisis scenarios such as the Alaskan oil spill, the silicone breast implant controversy, and nuclear plant malfunction at Three Mile Island. They show how resistance to both public and private initiatives can be overcome by a mutual gains approach involving face-to-face negotiation, a strategy applied successfully by over fifteen hundred executives and officials who have attended Professor Susskind's MIT-Harvard "Angry Public" seminars.Susskind and Field outline the six key elements of this approach in order to help business and government leaders negotiate, rather than fight, with their critics. In the process, they show how to identify who the public is, whose concerns to address first, which people and organizations must be convinced of the legitimacy of action taken, and how to assess and respond to different types of anger effectively. Acknowledging the crucial role played by the media in shaping public perception and understanding, Susskind and Field suggest a way to develop media interaction which is consistent with the six mutual gains principles, and also discuss the type of leadership that corporate and government managers must provide in order to combine these ideas into a useful whole.We all need to be concerned about a society in which the public's concerns, fears and anger are not adequately addressed. When corporate and government agencies must spend crucial time and resources on rehashing and defending each decision they make, a frustrated and angry public contributes to the erosion of confidence in our basic institutions and undermines our competitiveness in the international marketplace. In this valuable book, Susskind and Field have produced a strong, clear framework which will help reduce these hidden costs for hundreds of executives, managers, elected and appointed officials, entrepreneurs, and the public relations, legal and other professionals who advise them.

Author Biography

Lawrence E. Susskind is Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at MIT, President of the Consensus Building Institute, and one of America's most experienced public dispute mediators.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter I. Introduction

A New Way of Interacting with the Public

Why We All Should Be Concerned About Angry Publics

The Public Is Not Easily Appeased

The Typical Approach to Public Relations Does Not Work

A Different Approach Is Needed

Chapter II. Why Is the Public Angry?

What Is Anger?

Why Are People Angry?

Rational and Irrational Anger

Typical Responses to an Angry Public

Dealing with an Angry Public: The Conventional Wisdom

Chapter III. The Mutual-Gains Approach

The Mutual-Gains Approach: Six Principles

The Old Plastics Factory

Background

Applying for a Waiver

Further Study

The Public Presentation

A Disaster Threatens

The Fallout

Chapter IV. Accidents Will Happen

Three Mile Island: To Tell or Not to Tell

The First Day: March 28, 1979

The Second Day: March 29, 1979

The Third Day: March 30, 1979

The Final Days: March 31 and April 1, 1979

Telling the Truth: The Mutual-Gains Approach

The Advantages of Disclosure Outweigh the Disadvantages

Act in a Trustworthy Fashion

Select a Capable Spokesperson

Enlist Support on the Outside

Government and Business Should, Can, and Do Cooperate

The Exxon Valdez: When Paying Out Doesn't Pay Off

Cleaning Up

A Modest Proposal

Exxon's Response

Mitigation Efforts

Compensation for Damages

The Aftermath

Doing It Differently: The Mutual-Gains Approach

The Company's Failure to Accept Responsibility

The Company's Failure to Establish Clear Lines of Communication

The Company's Failure to First Mitigate, Then Compensate (and Ultimately Leave People Better Off)

The Company's Failure to Convene an Effective Problem-Solving Forum

Conclusion

Chapter V. Risky Business

What Is Risk?

Assessing Risk

Perceiving Risk

Communicating Risk

Risky Business

The Breast Implant Controversy

The Story Unfolds

The Story Is Retold

What Should the Company Do?

Implant Rupture

Drawing Conclusions in the Face of Uncertainty

Knowing Your Product and Presenting It Truthfully: The Mutual-Gains Approach

Set Clear Performance Standards

Minimize the Risk, Not the Concerns of Others

Make Commitments You Can Keep

Seek to Know, Not to Hide

Engage Stakeholders in Making Risky Decisions

Make Contingent Commitments

Chapter VI. When Values Collide

What Are Values?

Why Are Value Conflicts So Difficult to Resolve?

A Model for Deescalating Intractable Conflicts

Hydro-Quebec and the Cree: Clashing Cultures

Hydro-Quebec's Response to the Cree

Talking With, Not At, the Other: The Mutual-Gains Approach

Seek Common Principles -- Despite Seemingly Stark Differences

Consider That You Might Be Wrong

Consider Substantial Community Improvement Through a Fair Process, Not Compensation Only for the Few

Ignoring the Principles of the Mutual-Gains Approach Intensifies Cultural Conflict

Animal Rights

Listening Whether You Agree or Not: The Mutual-Gains Approach

Examine History to Better Understand Today

Seek Reason Amid Emotion, Not Reason at the Expense of Emotion

Recognize Diversity on the Other Side

Beware the Pitfalls of "Rights Talk"

Seek Forums for Dialogue

Chapter VII. The Media

The Conventional Wisdom of Media Relations

The Media as Adversary

The Media as a Tool

The Media Can Be Controlled

Media Policy by Default

The Mutual-Gains Approach to Dealing with the Media

Take into Account the Interests of the Media

Tell the Media What You Know and Don't Know

Make Available People with Authority Who Can Share Their Views Openly

Work to Convince Media They Have an Educative Role

Use a Neutral to Speak in a Single Voice

In a Consensus-Building Process, Establish Ground Rules to Guide Media Interactions

Use Additional Means of Communication

Set an Example for the Media to Follow

Summary

Chapter VIII. Principled Leadership

Doing the Right Thing

Integrity, Honesty, and Trust

How to Inspire Trust

Sharing, Listening, and Learning

What Leaders Value

Leadership and Institutions

Concluding Remarks

Notes

Bibliography

Index