Lynn Espinoza is a broadcast news veteran with more than a decade of media, presentation and executive coaching experience. She has developed personal coaching sessions for Fortune 100 C-level executives, corporate communicators of all kinds, doctors, lawyers and leaders in non-profit.
Fame Means You Always Have to Say You’re Sorry
Posted on February 18, 2009. Filed under: Latest News
It sort of worked for Timothy Geithner.
It didn’t work for Tom Daschle.
Michael Phelps got mixed results.
A future Hall of Fame vote will tell us if it worked for A-Rod.
Coming clean; saying “I’m sorry”. It has been the leading tool in broad, public damage control since the advent of the PR agency. History shows it works pretty well, as long as it isn’t preceeded by too many “I didn’t do its” (think Bill Clinton and “that woman”). I think the unspoken rule is that you forfeit your right to say “I’m sorry” after three adamant “I didn’t do its”. After that, it’s widely suspected that the only thing you’re sorry for is getting caught.
The broader question, though, isn’t about all of these individuals or their public apologies. The question is in the aggregate. What is the combined effect of so many national leaders, heroes and stars doing stupid things and then saying, “Gosh, I’m sure sorry”.
I think their PR council should spend less time training them to say “sorry”, and more time driving home the importance of playing by the rules.
What do you think?
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