A lot of us like to apply Gordons Risk model to runs, whether Fire or EMS. For the sake of this thread and discussion, I would like to apply it to public relations/interactions.
A time that I fell into the "top left" was when I had to address/deal with a public complaint. A citizen called the firehouse and wanted to complain that the crew took too long to respond to their request for EMS Service. This falls into the top left for several reasons. 1. We do our jobs correctly 9 times out of 10. 2. We rarely get complaints because we do our jobs well. 3. When we get complaints, I don't have to deal with them usually. 4. The risk is considerably high because one bad service delivery could affect many people and greatly destroy our public trust and future.
OF course, I apologized, looked into the complaint, apologized, followed up after I investigated, and ensured this was atypical and would not happen again.
I would suggest to others to be able to recognize when you are operating in the top left and seize the moment as a learning experience. Remember-If its uncomfortable it's unfamiliar, and that is the learning zone.