(One of the trickier elements of crisis communications involves the apologetic acknowledgement of error. But in crisis communications, as in life, saying "I'm sorry" is
never an easy thing to do. In this exclusive excerpt from his new book "Making News: A Straight Shooting Guide to Media Relations" (published by iUniverse), David Henderson
explores the PR value of a making a public apology in the aftermath of a major crisis. Henderson, formerly an Emmy-winning television journalist and PR industry executive, is a
lecturer at the University of Virginia.)
I have never failed to be impressed by how a simple, honest apology can defuse the most volatile situation, often averting a communications crisis for a corporation or
politician.
In another time, in the cowboy film "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," John Wayne growled "never apologize, and never explain." But that was then, over 50 years ago in a macho
western. This is now. Today apologies can do wonders.
Consider this example: "Governor John Rowland (of Connecticut) changed his story Friday and acknowledged that friends-including some under suspicion in a federal corruption
investigation-paid for work on his summer home," reported Susan Haigh of The Associated Press. "Rowland's admission, made public in a statement came ten days after he
insisted he alone had paid for improvements on the house at Bantam Lake."
Another politician confirms what we believe about most politicians: that they accept payoffs. Yet in this case, Rowland exacerbates his situation by lying and then changing his
story and announcing it in a written statement. A statement! Who's going to believe a written statement? Why not just come clean and stand up in front of the microphones and
reporters with notebooks and say something that begins with "I've made a terrible mistake. I apologize, and I'm going to do everything possible to make it right ..."
Rowland was later found guilty and went to prison.
Equally astonishing is the absolute refusal by some organizations and titans of industry to ever admit to any mistakes, even when their hands are caught in the cookie jar. In
fact it seems that the larger the scope of misdoings and egregious misconduct, the more likely that arrogance will prevent the perpetrators from even considering the value of an
apology.
It must be something in the American ethos that a guy who makes an apology is some sort of "girlie man," to borrow Arnold Schwarzenegger's words. Attorneys advise clients to
shun the actual word apology in favor of regret.
Did you ever hear an apology from Enron, Global Crossing or Worldcom? Nope. The message we heard was one of blame and excuses, seemingly driven by greed and
arrogance. We were left with the impression that many of those titans of business were just well-compensated crooks.
Another example: Hurricane Isabel cut a destructive swath up the east coast of the United States, leaving hundreds of thousands of people with no power for days. Several of the
power companies were slow to restore service. It was disclosed in the media that they had cut back the number of repair crews needed to upgrade power lines in order to show a
better bottom line to investors.
Rather than standing up in a news conference and saying simply, "We made a mistake. We apologize, and we are now working feverishly to restore electricity to your homes," the
power-company executives attempted to defend their decisions. They did battle with the news media. They made the media their enemy rather than saying they screwed up. It was
classic John Wayne behavior, circa 1950. Yet today such behavior comes off as incompetence and appears to emphasize greed over a clear focus on customer service. It wasn't smart,
and the companies were broiled by the public, the media, the politicians and ... the investors.
There are unfortunately far too many executives and attorneys who choose to duke it out (pun intended) with tough stances. The worse the situation, the greater the arrogance --
and often the greater the media feast of one story after another. Denying responsibility or twisting facts, especially in the face of evidence to the contrary, will actually
create a news story. Hey, just apologize, make amends, and move forward.
President George W. Bush managed to reduce damage to the reputation of his administration by accepting responsibility, albeit belatedly, for incompetence by the Federal
Emergency Management Administration in responding to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A week after the hurricane, people were still dying along the Gulf Coast, and the region was in
chaos, because no aid had arrived from the federal government.
When it was apparent that the government had no plan, and the administration was being scalded by everyone from the media to both Republicans and Democrats, Mr. Bush
essentially said, "We were wrong, we made mistakes, but here's what we are doing now ..." and outlined a plan for assistance. Sadly, though, his apology was not subsequently
linked to concrete actions and timely relief for those whose lives were devastated by the hurricane, giving rise to what some Bush administration observers called Bush's "smirk
factor," a habit of making an apology or statement that is, in reality, neither sincere nor backed up by action.
Connecticut-based communications strategist Jane Genova counsels organizations on the value of creating goodwill through an apology. She said nonapologizers might be smart to
explore using mea culpa as a power tool, and she shared these examples from her work:
- Just observe. When anyone makes a sincere apology, we listen. "I landed an assignment in the mega competitive hospitality industry by recognizing that even the most
unhappy guest will be turned around by an authentic and detailed apology," she said.
- Give up on the "cult of the self." Did the inward, self-focus theory ever work? That's questionable. In an interconnected, volatile global economy, who can go it
alone? That's why eastern philosophy of "no-self" is catching on rapidly. If we aren't defending the self, apology comes naturally.
- Decide if we want to be right /appear to be right or be successful. Surrendering on this one is the necessary inner paradigm shift that makes apology possible.
- Ignore the lawyers, initially. We can apologize in ways that won't invite legal action or strengthen the case of the opposition. After we make a decision to do a mea
culpa, then we should listen to the lawyers.
- Try out apologizing. When we get the favorable attention of others out there, we know we're doing it right.
We are human. We do our best. We are not perfect. We make honest mistakes. In extremely difficult times, an apology can be an effective and proven method of controlling media
relations.
Contact: David Henderson, 703.862.3701 or [email protected].