The Anatomy of an Apology

Recently, we have seen a number of public apologies from companies and individuals. From the world of social media, we saw Kenneth Cole apologizing for his insensitive tweet about the Egyptian uprising. We saw the Red Cross apologizing for a rogue tweet by a staff member. And Chrysler found itself apologizing after a profanity laden tweet disparaging Detroit drivers was issued by a staff member at the auto manufacturer’s social media agency.

As for apologies around events occurring outside the domain of poor taste – when the mistake involves negative impacts on the environment or on people’s lives – the terrain becomes a lot more difficult to navigate. This became even more clear when CEO of Tepco (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) issued an apology 29 hours after the first explosion at his company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The apology was met with a lot of criticism for reasons that ranged from lack of clarity around the facts surrounding the incident to lack of reparations offered.

Public demand for transparency and speed often appears to conflict with the imperative for accuracy and avoiding litigation. But what many leaders and communicators fail to realize, is that there is a right way to apologize, even in the early, uncertain phases of crises. Likewise, there is wrong way to apologize. A dispassionate apology can come across as disingenuous and obligatory, and can cause more harm than good.

“A stiff apology is a second insult… The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

Knowing the anatomy of a good, effective corporate apology is the first step to repairing a tarnished reputation.  Corpen Group’s Anatomy of a Corporate Apology infographic shows the mandatory parts of a “healthy” apology.