We also might have done a lot worse, I can tell you that. The main thing you have to do is try for a correction as fast as possible, and not repeat it. Our main mistake was that we underestimated how much our job should be speaking clearly and dealing directly at the local political level. We should have tried to know more, going in, about the political culture. We're getting better at that.
Different people react in different ways.
Now I know you've got to be ready. If your project is big, it's automatically controversial. And that light's going to shine on you, and you'd better be ready to deal with it. I was advised to have public relations people running things, but I don't believe that's a good solution over the long term. That puts a layer between you and reality.