“New shit has come to light!”
– The Dude
We’re America’s military, and sometimes our plans and policies change.
We can own this, it’s surprisingly simple.
“We changed our mind.” It’s a useful phrase but you don’t see it very often
Does saying “we changed our minds” make us look unorganized? Indecisive? Subversive? Only if we leave out the much-needed context.
When we explain why we changed our mind, and how the change is consistent with our values, then the organization looks cooperative. Professional. Adaptable.
- “Why are you sending 3,000 troops to this country when you initially said you’d only send 50?” “We changed our minds, here’s why.”
- “Why is the U.S. still performing this mission when it was supposed to end years ago?” “We changed our minds, here’s why.”
- “Why are you increasing your technology budget at a time you pledged to cut costs?” “We changed our minds, here’s why.”
What’s not helpful is performing advanced acrobatics to make the changed plans seem like they fit into what was our plan all along.
What’s not helpful is getting publicly defensive about the fact we aren’t sticking to the initial announcement.
What’s not helpful is being slow and limiting releasing the information we have, in case new information comes in later.
(Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Victoria Foley, DVIDS)
