Appearances do matter...

I have a ton of miles on American Airlines, so this news affects me. Not nearly as much as it affects all the people working for the airline though. This whole fiasco points out something interesting to me:

FORT WORTH, Texas (CNN) -- Outraged by news that troubled American Airlines had planned to give its executives bonuses, flight attendants rescinded their approval of wage cuts and plan to vote again, a union official said late Friday.

It seems that senior management often forgets that the fate of their company rests on "the little people" who do the day to day work. If they forget too much, it can lead to ugly spats like the one we see being played out in public at AA. Always a good idea to reflect on how decisions will play with the rank and file, I think. This doesn't mean that every decision has to be poll tested; it does mean that corporate leaders should be aware of the possibility of blowback...