Flickr: mi..chaelIf you've engaged any news source this week, you've probably heard about Steven Slater. Slater is the (previously employed) JetBlue flight attendant who, upon allegedly being assaulted by a passenger, effectively quit his job with a tirade of expletives over the PA system before grabbing a beer and making a grand exit out the emergency chute (luggage in hand) at JFK airport.

Slater was promptly arrested and the media blitz began. For many organizations and individuals, this would have been a disastrous situation. In the age of Charlene Li's Open Leadership, however, it may be working to both parties advantage.

A YouTube search for "Steven Slater" results in 499 videos, many of them praising his actions. On Monday of this week, a Facebook page for Steven Slater popped up and has since gained over 190,000 "likes" -- and counting. On it, users have been praising Slater's grand exit, kvetching over the trials of working in the service industry, and overall, bonding over actions they believe are justified. Many wish they themselves had taken a similar course of action at some point in the past.

The thing that really stands out on the page? The presence of JetBlue's name and brand.

JetBlue is mentioned as Slater's only affiliation. The profile picture is of the flight attendant in his uniform standing next to baskets of JetBlue's signature snacks. In the "Info" section, the website listed is a link to www.jetblue.com. While connecting with other fans and Steven, the users are also associating their (mostly positive) feelings with JetBlue.

While it's unclear who is behind the site -- all updates are written in the third person (and I don't believe it's a JetBlue marketing intern hiding in a back room with a laptop) -- it certainly doesn't appear to be hurting their business. In fact, they've taken an open approach to the entire event -- as Li suggests we all do in her book. (You can read the introduction here.)

The official JetBlue blog acknowledges the incident, makes light of it, and moves on, even tagging it with their frequently used "you can't make this schtick up".

Wired Magazine refers to JetBlue as "one of the earliest proponents of transparent online communication" in their musings over why it took the company multiple days to respond to the incident. (The official blog post came out on Tuesday, though the event happening over the weekend.)

This is a crucial peice of how JetBlue handled the situation: first, they listened.

So, even in the pop culture detritus, we can clearly see the way social media has changed how organizations interact with their audience. JetBlue was able to listen to the "water cooler" conversation happening on the social web and then react with their statement -- or in this case, lack thereof -- as they deemed appropriate.

They are, in a way, embracing the failure by backing off and not taking either the side of Steven or of those who believe he was in the wrong. In doing so, they're acquiring more fans than they may have by throwing money, resources, or advertising into forming an opinion about the controversy, or even trying to cover it up.

The best part about the strategy of openness, and Li's tips for being an open leader, is that it hasn't cost JetBlue any more than the potentially disastrous situation itself. We would all do well to remember that.