Boomerang

Lately I’ve been hearing myself say “Hang in there!” an awful lot. It’s what I said to a client who recently started a new job and managed a $43M acquisition in her first week. It’s what I said to an employee who is overloaded with client work because she is that good and in high demand. It’s what I said to my nanny who has a full week of taking care of not only the baby, but also my 5-year-old while his school takes winter break.

While it’s meant to be hopeful and empathetic, I realized that it’s actually the opposite. Not only does “Hang in there!” sounds defeatist – like you’re already Ziggy hanging from the rope with no options but to let go or be stranded there forever – but it also offers no real help. You might as well say “suck it up!”President Bush, for example, has essentially been telling the world to “hang in there” and continue to fight an unjustified war. AT&T clearly expects its customers to “hang in there” while it goes through yet another convoluted branding exercise.

The more impressive way to handle a “hang in there” situation is the JetBlue approach of facing the problem head on, apologizing for circumstances beyond its control, and offering a solution at the same time. JetBlue CEO David Neeleman’s apology letter not only reflects the true JetBlue brand of “bringing humanity back to air travel,” it requires nothing – no more suffering but also no more complaining – from customers.

Saying “hang in there” is an avoidance tactic for me, and one that I now promise to avoid.