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His songs have provided the soundtrack of our lives, weaving through the decades, and defining the seasons. My husband and I have relished his music, admired his amazing talent, and attended several concerts. And, besides, he is a fellow Long Islander. What’s not to love?

In case you haven’t guessed, he is Billy Joel, the iconic musician who just completed his 100^th sold-out show in a row at Madison Square Garden.

After a particularly challenging week, we looked forward to this Sunday evening concert, broadcast live from Madison Square Garden into our living room. It was a relief to “forget about life for a while,” as the song goes.

Billy was amazing, hitting the high notes and bringing the energy of someone half his age. His band was spectacular. What a talented, passionate team!

For a time, my husband and I relived the reel of our lives through the music – such great memories. He sang my two favorite songs: “New York State of Mind” (1976) and “Vienna” (1977), plus his latest song, “Turn the Lights Back On” (2024), and many others.

And then he ended with his first major hit and his signature song, “Piano Man”. The crowd was totally into the song. Everyone was singing and thinking collectively: “Sing us a song, you’re the piano man…”

And then it happened!

The mood came crashing to an abrupt halt with a COMMERCIAL! Yes, right in the middle of the song!

You can bet this New Yorker and thousands of people were not happy about that one bit. People took to social media in droves to voice their opinions, because if you love Billy Joel, you certainly have an opinion.

His disappointed fans were met with a weak apology later from the network and a promise to re-air in the near future.

What is the lesson here for business?

Here’s the thing. Mistakes happen. Bad timing happens. And sometimes someone makes a bad judgment call.

But it is what you do after things happen that makes the difference.

Do you issue a weak apology? Do you try to downplay the impact? Do you shift the blame to circumstances or another leader, or, even worse, throw your team under the bus?

Or do you go above and beyond expectations and WOW your audience?

In this example, a great solution would be to replay the concert in its entirety WITHOUT any commercials at all. If you interrupted an experience, you make up for it by giving the audience something unexpected – a show with no interruptions whatsoever!

Think about this next time you or someone on your team makes a mistake. Do you just provide a refund and move on, or do you provide a refund plus something to make a future experience better as well? Do you solve the issue and then provide a bonus – perhaps a personal call or handwritten letter?

In business, people matter. And peoples’ experience with your company matters even more.

How will YOU deliver the WOW to your audience (your customers or clients)? How can you add value, even after mistakes are made?

Action Steps

1. Think of a situation where a mistake was made that affected a customer or client.
2. How did you and your team handle it?
3. How can you add a WOW factor for similar situations in the future?

For valuable resources on communicating and serving well, click here.

Deb Ingino is a highly sought-after executive coach, mentor, consultant, and speaker worldwide. Deb is well versed in business operations and in the importance of asking key questions most business leaders won’t ask themselves. She brings deep experience in leadership development, strategy, high performance team building and effective communication. She has a passion for leading people to discover and maximize their strengths as well as those of fellow team members, while offering advanced strategies to achieve high performance. Deb is the perfect fit if you’re ready to take your leadership and impact to the next level!