Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Elementary, Mr. Watson: Rebuilding Trust When Things Go Wrong

When you look at the long list of steps involved in designing a PCB, it can be somewhat overwhelming and sometimes pretty easy to miss something. You usually have Murphy’s law breathing down your neck, waiting. Be assured that when things go wrong, they go very wrong. Also, those errors are on full public display to the point that I feel there should be a town crier, ringing a bell and saying, “Hear ye, hear ye! A mistake was made on a PCB design.”

The reality is that these problems fall through the cracks and may even get fabricated into the PCB designs; then, the real problems begin. The question everyone seems to have is, “What happened?” You quickly find that, for some, they lost trust in the design process, so you must get it back, and quickly. But how do you do that? Here are some tips for rebuilding trust when things go wrong.

Rebuild Trust as Quickly as Possible

I guess it is human nature, but for some, they gravitate automatically to the negative; some always live there. They only want to focus on things that either went wrong or can go wrong, which makes it difficult. You can have a perfect record, and once you make a single mistake, that is what’s remembered.

You cannot start to rebuild trust while living in that mentality, and it’s easy to get swept up with the mob mentality. However, half the battle is mental and takes discipline to focus on the solution rather than the problem. Critics are a dime a dozen.

I recently volunteered to help Habitat for Humanity to refurbish a home and was put on the demolition team. I ended up there mostly because it didn’t take any real talent or skill to take a sledgehammer and go at it. It was great fun. However, once we had torn down the old kitchen, people skilled in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work came and did their thing. My point is that it takes no real skill to be critical and tear something down, but to build up something is a different story, and that’s where the real talent is. Have the attitude to be someone who builds things up rather than tears them down.

Further, distrust causes even more distrust. It is one of the most toxic and contagious things in any company. If left unchecked, it can develop into a massive problem with only a downward spiral. However, on the positive side, although it is never easy to go through, I believe that it is during the times when things don’t quite go as planned that brings out the real character of people. This is especially true when you learn about a process, including weak areas in workflows, and how best to fix them. Good PCB designers become great by working through the problems that arise and learning how to handle them quickly. Much of what I am about to share is directly from my personal experience.

Be Prepared

As the saying goes, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” Fortunately for PCB designs, we have more than just hope. We have a particular set of tools, processes, and checks that can be put into place to double-check things as we go.

The word that best describes my point here is you need to be vigilant, which means always be careful to notice things, especially possible dangers or problems. There are two sides to this coin: looking for problems under every rock or becoming very lackadaisical. Aim for something in the middle. Be prepared and watchful for any possible problems.

Don’t Play the Blame Game

Many times, we are quick to point the finger at something or someone else and place blame. However, that doesn’t fix anything, and it completely stalls fixing the problem and rebuilding trust. It takes some discipline to separate your emotions from the situation and transition into solving the problem quickly. I find that most managers and upper management are not concerned with placing blame; instead, their big question is, “How are we going to fix the problem?”

Quickly Identify the Root Cause and Put a Solution Into Place

It is not enough to identify the obvious problem; what you see is only the result of the cause. You need to dig deeper and determine the root cause. You can also use the “5 whys” method to identify the root cause of an issue. You might be shocked that what was identified as a problem was not even close to the root cause. It’s essential to find that root. Otherwise, you are only looking at the effect and causes, and, ultimately, nothing gets solved. Once you identify the root cause, put into place the solutions for the problem. You may find that this is difficult at times because, for some, they are locked into a negative attitude and hate change; however, it is necessary.

Communicate the Changes

Communication is vital to rebuilding trust. It is not a good idea to stay silent. I have found that when someone does not fill in the gaps, especially on something so public and concerning to the team, people tend to jump to a conclusion and fill in the gaps on their own. The assumptions are worse than the original problems.

Send the emails, make the calls, and conduct a meeting. Communicate the findings on the root cause and the specific solutions that are put in place to ensure that the problem has been identified and solved. Do not merely assume that people know the changes. I make a point to document the changes either in an official company memo or make it even better by updating the SOPs that cover that process.

Conclusion

My final thought is to give this process time. The problems and issues become less frequent when you handle them efficiently and quickly. However, in reality, for some, once you break the trust, it can never be reestablished, which is not mainly your problem by theirs.

 John Watson, CID, is a senior PCB engineer at Legrand Corporation.