Kudos to Broadcasters; Let's Learn from Them!

Hey, did you notice that today is the FCC-dictated switch from analog TV to digital? You didn't? If not, you can't blame the major broadcasters. They bent over backwards for YEARS to make sure that viewers knew that their older sets wouldn't receive the new digital signals. (By the way, this is to open parts of the electromagnetic spectrum for emergency use -- a good thing.) Look at what they did:

• Announced the coming switchover as public service announcements so that no one should have been caught unaware
• Advised viewers of where to get converters
• Conducted tests to help viewers determine if they would be affected by the switchover ("Hey, this is what your picture looks like now."
  "Here is your picture on digital." THROW SWITCH
  "If you can't see me, then you're s.o.l after June 12.")

The broadcasters' efforts are a lesson in good community relations. They stated the problems up front, showed the results, and advised on where to find the solutions. What does your organization do when you face a change that will affect your stakeholders?
Are you proactive? Or reactive?
Do you point to the solutions?
Do you show the consequences of the event in question?

Think about all this whenever you are facing such events as product changes, price increases or layoffs. We should all do as well as the broadcasters just showed us.