Most people are familiar by now with the story of Debbie Shank, the former Wal-Mart employee who while employed by Wal-Mart was involved in a catastrophic auto accident with a semi-tractor trailer. Debbie was left permanently brain damaged and will need life time care.

Debbie was covered under Wal-Mart’s health insurance coverage which paid her bills to the tune of $470,000. She also settled with the trucking company for One Million Dollars. Wal-Mart then asked Debbie for its share of the money from the settlement to recoup what it had paid under her health insurance. As Debbie needed that money for future long term care, she refused to turn it over.

Wal-Mart proceeded to sue Debbie pursuant to a subrogation clause in her health insurance policy. This clause is in pretty much all health insurance policies. It allows Wal-Mart to recover any expenses they paid out under the policy from any responsible party if the injury was the result of someone else’s negligence. In this case, the party they would want the money back from would be the trucking company who paid out its policy limits to Debbie. The court sided with Wal-Mart. Debbie had to give some of the money back. Outrage ensued, letters were written, op-eds flooded major news publications, and blogs exploded media Christmas lights lit up worldwide. A tipping point was reached. Pursuant to the Tipping Point Playbook, Wal-Mart relented, controlled the spin and said they would sin no more going forward.What is a tipping point? A tipping point is the point where momentum for change becomes unstoppable.

What is the tipping point playbook? The tipping point playbook allows Wal-Mart to act non-emotionally in any situation no matter how heart wrenching the situation or devastating the result on the nameless employee until a “tipping point” or “critical mass ” is met. When this happens the Wal-Mart magically transforms from the antiseptic non-feeling, bureaucracy methodically walking over the backs of employees to a better bottom line to a reincarnation of Walt Disney World where employees are king combined with a “gee gosh, how did that happen press release”.

How does Wal-Mart know when the tipping point is hit and they need to take a different public position? It is hard to say. A lot has been written about this phenomenon starting with Malcolm Gladwells book, The Tipping Point.

Let us take the Debbie Shank case as an example. It was certainly not reached when they asked for the money back. It was not reached when they sued her. It was not reached when a few regional publications picked up her story. It was reached when that mysterious DIGG algorithm point was met where all of a sudden the story was spreading through the internet and news services like wildfire. That is the tipping point. It was at that point where Wal-Mart decided that they would lose more money in negative image than they would save taking 400 grand from poor Debbie Shank

Don’t kid yourself; this was not about good will to Debbie Shank. It was a tipping point business decision by Wal-Mart nothing more. What is that point where everything cascades in the other direction towards lost profits to Wal-Mart because of bad press? Despite Wal-Mart’s claims of new “flexibility” in these decisions, the next person in the same situation will be treated the exact same way. Why? The next person will be treated the same way because no tipping point as been reached. The tipping point will certainly be set lower for the next person.

So again what is the Wal-Mart tipping point playbook? It is simply the point where public perception gives a name and a face to whomever neck their foot happens to be on. It is a bottom line dollar point to Wal-Mart where it becomes cheaper or even profitable to change their public stance on a given issue… They are experts at determining when that is and changing direction 180 degrees on a dime with a spin control machine that probably matches Hillary Clintons.

Do you think Wal-Mart is really a sincere apologetic do-gooder here? I don’t. They simply reached critical mass in public opinion where it is more profitable to be the good guy.

Such is the tipping point playbook. Not Wal-Mart’s invention but they run it to perfection