United Airlines and the Code

We have all seen the video of the passenger who was dragged off the United airlines flight, suffering a concussion and broken teeth in the process.  And we all have our opinions about the mistakes that were made by United – beginning with the CEO who almost immediately said that the appropriate procedures were followed.  Many simply wondered why United didn’t just keep offering more and more money until someone did volunteer to get off the plane.  When something goes wrong, the natural tendency is to make excuses, to try to explain why it is not our fault that it happened, and about how we did everything we could to get the right result.  And that’s what the United CEO tried to do.  What does the Code say about this?  The preamble to the Code says, “I will take responsibility and appropriate actions when I fail…”  Today the CEO has finally taken full responsibility, after fumbling for days.  The moment he saw the video, he should have immediately said something like, “What I have seen is very upsetting, I am terribly sorry that it happened, I want to learn how and why it happened, but in the meanwhile, I am responsible for United airlines and I want the public to know that this is very upsetting to us at United.”  In saying something like this, the public would have seen a human response, the taking of responsibility, and appropriate actions would have followed in due course.  Have you ever been in a situation where you tried to avoid responsibility?  Have you ever realized that you were wrong about something and admitted it, and taken responsibility?  How did you feel when that happened?    What have you learned from this incident?