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So, what’s the big deal with apologies?
By Lauren | August 4, 2008
Recently, a friend asked why so many of my blog posts focus on various aspects of apologies. “It seems so narrow,” she said. “Are apologies really all that important?”
You bet they are.
As a practicing attorney, I’ve had over twenty years’ experience dealing with other people’s problems. (Let’s face it – regardless of how much they like me as a person, my clients usually call because they’re in some kind of trouble, not just to socialize.) Frequently, clients call because something’s gone wrong or they’ve made a mistake in their businesses, and they’re afraid they may lose a job, a client or a customer, or even be sued. Depending on the circumstances, we often agree that their best course of action is not to hunker down and get defensive, but to admit the mistake and apologize.
We live in an imperfect world, and things go wrong every day. Going to court is an expensive, time-consuming and emotionally exhausting way to solve problems, and I rarely recommend it to anyone who asks me for advice. In my experience, it’s usually far better for everyone involved if a mistake can be rectified outside of the courthouse with an effective apology. That’s why I wrote my new book, The Art of the Apology. My goal is to teach people how to apologize better, so they can mend professional and personal relationships more often and go to court less.
For more information about The Art of the Apology, go to www.artoftheapology.com.
Topics: Apologies, Business Ethics, Risk Management, business communications, customer relations, ethics |
August 5th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Lauren,
Provided it is used in a sincere fashion, the simple words, “I’m sorry,” can heal many wounds.
The act of a sincere apology shows the affected party that they do matter and that they are important to you.
However, verbal apologies should be accompanied by action to rectify the situation in cases where this is at all possible.
Recent apologies in Canada and Australia to indigenous people (which you have alluded to in previous posts), for example, are positive steps. But they must also be accompanied by action to help overcome disadvantages faced by affected communities and races.
Cheers
Andrew