Today, I am thankful for all those who take responsibility for their actions, especially when their ideas head south.
Speaking of heading south, I’m reminded this week of a poorly-executed, clandestine event that heralded the rise of the Cold War, occurring nearly 6 decades ago ninety miles off the coast of Florida. After the rise of Fidel Castro in 1958, the US and Cuba relationship headed, well, south. As Cuba’s revolutionary party severed its links with American owned businesses on the island while simultaneously cementing its economic ties to the Soviet Union, the US government became increasingly concerned about the potential rise of communism in the Caribbean, When John F. Kennedy Jr. (JFK) rose to the highest US office in 1960, one of his first decisions was to sanction a military-backed coup of Cuba in an effort to depose Castro, Funded entirely by the CIA, a brigade was assembled to train for an eventual sea-based attack of the island. In the middle of April in 1962, Brigade 2506 launched its mission from Guatemala and Nicaragua under the support of US air attacks of Cuban airfields. Over 1,400 infantry secretly landed on the night of April 16 at the Bay of Pigs. Over the course of the next 3 days, the mission went horribly wrong. Despite initial advances, Cuba successfully pushed back on the brigade. JFK’s decision not to provide additional air cover as tensions with the Soviet Union escalated left the troops significantly outnumbered. On April 20, the US troops surrendered. The next day, at a press conference, JFK put it plainly:
“There’s an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan…Further statements are not to conceal responsibility because I’m the responsible officer of the Government.”
Although the statement indicated JFK took responsibility, the media and political pundits questioned who was as fault. So, on this day (Apr 24), JFK’s administration said it again in a press release:
“President Kennedy has stated from the beginning that’s, as president, he bears sole responsibility for the events of the past few days. He has stated it on all occasions & he restates it now so that it will be understood by all.”
It takes courage to admit you were wrong. I’m reminded of another monumental blunder in the South, which also transpired this same week in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1985. At that time, secret taste tests, performed under the code name Operation Kansas, suggested that a new, sweeter formula of Coca-Cola, referred to as New Coke, would be warmly welcomed by soda fans. A formal public announcement of the exciting new formula was greeted with some skepticism. Nevertheless, on this day, Coke started replacing ‘old’ coke with its newer version through stores. Well, this launch went horribly wrong. Coke’s customers responded with a deluge of overt anger, visible disgust, and even some staged protests. Facing an intense, swift outcry, the corporation quickly retreated. On July 11 of the same year, the Company reintroduced the old formula, now rebranded as ‘Classic Coke.’ From what I can tell, the Company never formally apologized, instead acknowledging their colossal blunder, their unanticipated surprise to the robust support for the initial brand, and their eager willingness to swiftly correct the error. To this day, many still believe the introduction of New Coke was a coordinated conspiracy to regain market share for Coke vs. Pepsi.
The lesion is simple: When things go south, take full and swift ownership for your errors. Accepting responsibility for one’s mistakes will not fully correct the initial wrongdoing but it avoids compounding the original sin.
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