Lessons from Terminal Five

London's Heathrow Airport opened Terminal 5 this week, reminding me of the troubled opening of Denver's International Airport more than ten years ago.  Terminal 5 was slated to solve much of Heathrow's problems, including long security lines.  The terminal was supposed to be the pride of London, the entry point for athletes and visitors worldwide for the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the peak of airport efficiency.  Instead, thousands of pieces of luggage have been lost, the terminal opened unfinished, dirty and with poorly trained staff. 

The website ContinuityCentral has an interesting post on four lessons learned from the T5:

1.  Don't let it ever happen in the first place.

2.  Take responsibility for your actions

3.  Take radical steps to show that you are in control.

4.  Buy goodwill.

What?  You don't plan on opening an airport in the near future?  How about opening a new office, merger with another firm, acquiring a practice from a competitor, or launching a client service program.  Read the article here.