Apologies: The Make or Break for Companies and Public Figures Alike

Let’s talk about apologies.

In our day to day life, apologies can range from a quick “I’m sorry,” to a detailed personal explanation for past behavior. For companies and celebrities existing in the public eye, however, apologies are not as easy.

Oftentimes, apologies are not owed only to the person or group wronged, but those who witnessed or consider themselves to be part of the same group, stakeholders, and customers. Reasons you may see a public apology include (but are certainly not limited to):

• Improper workplace transgressions

• Politically incorrect stances

• Inappropriate personal conduct

• Misappropriation of company funds

Not infrequently, apologies are reserved until the accusations and bad publicity mount to a place where there is no choice but to apologize. There are instances both few and far between in which an apology might not be the correct course of action, but realistically, a prompt apology prior to an onslaught of bad press is the best way to overcome any negative perceptions.

Important things to note when apologizing

How public figures and corporations go about their approach to apologizing can quite literally make or break their future. If you ever find yourself or your business in the place of needing to apologize, there are a few very important things to note:

1. Apologize in a timely manner.

2. Take responsibility for the actions that have harmed others.

3. Make your apology genuine.

4. Be forward and proactive in the steps you will take to reconcile (And then do them!)

5. Do not make it about you.

6. Do not shift blame.

Sounds easy, right?

You ‘d think so, but frequently that’s not the case.

How to apologize effectively

Human emotion can be hard to overcome in delicate situations, and that’s why it’s so important to have a professional on hand to help craft your messaging, even if you plan to write your apology for yourself.

As mentioned earlier, timing is everything. You can’t let allegations stew in the public for too long before addressing them. At the same time, you want to ensure you’re taking time to fully understand exactly what it is an apology is owed for, to who, and why. 24 hours should suffice in crafting a quality apology.

The most important thing to take into consideration is the verbiage used in your apology, taking care to take full responsibility and not shift the blame onto others.

The second most important piece and support to your apology includes outlining steps that you or your organization will take to not only never make the mistake again, but even improve in the future.

When done appropriately, apologies can turn a PR disaster into good will, but when done poorly, they can result in the breakdown of even the biggest corporations.

Examples of a quality apology

In the realm of the public eye, there have been some wonderful examples of leaders and celebrities stepping up, taking blame, and making changes for past actions. These are a few of my favorite examples:

• Apple paying royalties: When it was brought to Apple’s attention by Taylor Swift that artists would not receive royalties during customers free trial periods, Apple quickly responded with an apology and immediately began paying royalties to artists listened to in the free period.

• Johnson and Johnson recalling Tylenol: Other J&J controversies aside, this one, from the 80s, was handled well, putting consumers first and showcasing action.

• JetBlue creating a customer’s bill of rights: Not only did JetBlue take swift action in offering a personal apology from the CEO, it immediately took action putting into place a customer’s bill of rights to avoid any future problems.

Examples of a poor apology

As with any good, there comes bad, and apologies are no exception to the rule. Here are some of the worst examples of a public apology I’ve seen:

• Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner ad: Not only did this ad “miss the mark,” so did the apology, which, in part, was aimed at Kendall Jenner, the model that chose to participate.

• Papa John’s racist remarks: While he offered an apology, it was haphazard and poorly put together. Papa John resigned shortly after.

• Peloton’s holiday spot: Not apologizing is bad enough, but standing by a commercial others had so many valid issues with? Yikes.

At the end of the day, it is crucial to have a professional available for review of any public apology at the very least. Employing a professional as part of your team can help stave the instances of needing one in the first place.

What is Public Relations, Anyways?

Public Relations - PR for short - means SO many different things to SO many people. The easiest way to describe it?

Relations 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 your publics. Let's dig a little deeper into what that actually means.

What is “a public?”

Simply put, it's a group of people. Generally you'll think along the lines of the general public, but a public can also refer to other groups like:

• Employees

• Donors

• Board Members

• Potential Customers

• Existing Customers

How can you target publics?

When we think about targeting these publics, is important to think how we'll 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 to them. We need to do this in order to meet company goals like:

• Increasing Awareness

• Soliciting Funds

• Providing critical information to the appropriate people

We have to think questions like: “How would this public want to hear from me," "Does this public care about what I have to say," or "How can I get across important information quickly to the right people?" These are just the starting points - there are SO many questions we have to ask ourselves!

How is PR useful?

PR is useful in so many ways, but here are just a few examples:

• Informing employees about new company policies

• Telling the media and consumers about new products or services

• Keeping donors up to date on what your organization is doing with their money

Keep an eye out for our next blog - we’ll break down these examples to showcase some specific tactics you can implement in your organization.

Should we be ditching New Year's resolutions

It's almost a right of passage into the new year-- taking out paper, writing down a list of resolutions, only to forget about that new gym membership 23 days later.  We've all done it, and while a new year is nothing but a continuation of infinite time, it does lend itself well to a fresh start.  But...

I'm going to be honest with you.  I do not make New Year's resolutions (gasp), and here's why.  Yes, every year is a fresh start, a time to try something new, improve yourself, eat better, run faster, lift more, write more, draw more, love more, love harder... but so is every month.  So is every week.  So is every day.

Imagine how disappointed you feel year after year, making resolutions only to forget them over the next few weeks.  I know how it feels, I used to do it too, both for my business and personally.  It never failed.  I would stop writing regularly by February.  By March, I hadn't seen the gym in weeks.  By April, I'd be eating Taco Bell three times a week.  And I felt defeated.  

If you treat each day as a chance to start fresh, missing the gym yesterday doesn't feel like such a big deal.  You can go today.  Feeling too overworked to write for the past week doesn't feel like you failed. You can wake up tomorrow after a good night's sleep and write.  There's no continuous cycle of, "Well, I haven't run all month-- what's the point of running today?"

You don't need resolutions to do what makes you happy, to do what makes you healthy, to do what you've always wanted to do.  Our lives get busy, resolutions are broken, and it happens.  It is ok.  We wake up tomorrow, and we try again.  

Tomorrow, I'm going to write more.  Tomorrow, I'm going to drink more water.  Tomorrow I'm going to read a book I've always wanted to read.  And if I don't, there's always the next day.

What are your personal and business goals, and how can I help?

Caitlin

Working from home: Turning the downsides into the upsides

If you haven’t worked from home, it sounds like a dream job—“Work in my pajamas from the couch all day? Sign me up!”  For those of us who have worked from home, we know it’s not that simple.  It can be hard to concentrate, it can be lonely, and you don’t always have the support of a team behind you.

It can be stressful to have your work life and your personal life so closely intertwined, but if you look at it from a different perspective, the downsides of working from home really aren’t so bad.  Here’s why:

1.     You have to get out of bed.  This is true, but it’s hard to get out of bed when you have to go to the office too.  It’s much easier to do it when you know you get to come back for a mid-day nap.

2.     You miss out on your favorite morning talk show.  You look forward to the ridiculous antics of the morning talk show hosts on your way to work, but how hard is it to get out of the car mid joke? When you work from home, you don’t have to turn it off, and you might even have better luck winning the trip to Jamaica!

3.     You have to convert your second bedroom (aka your walk-in closet) to office space.  Most states let you write off your office space as a business expense, so you have more money to spend on that new pair of shoes.

4.     You can’t concentrate when there are dishes and laundry to do.  But your dishes and laundry get done, don’t they?

5.     You don’t get to interact with people all day. How much did you really miss Bill from accounting anyway?  Plus coffee shops have better coffee than the office brew.

While working from home can be tough, just remember that you get an extra hour of sleep cutting out that commute!

Caitlin