Apologies - The Jonathan Rick Group

Nobody Cares That You’re “Sorry if People Were Offended”

Published on July 26, 2021 in / Apologies, Published Writing

Please stop using this nonapology apology.

Have you ever told someone, “I’m sorry if you feel that way”?

If so, please know that this is most certainly not an apology. It’s not even close.

In fact, this everyday phrase is one of the most specious, one of the most insidious, and one of the most repugnant in the English language. It’s a head nod toward contrition, but it’s unforgivably devoid of sincerity and ownership.

Let’s unpack the explosive meaning of these seven little words.

…

Nobody Cares That You’re “Sorry if People Were Offended”Read More »

You’ve Been Apologizing the Wrong Way Your Whole Life

By Jonathan Rick /

Published on September 10, 2017 in / Apologies

Have you ever told someone, by way of apology, “I’m sorry if you feel that way”?

If so, please know that this is not an apology. In fact, this all-too-common phrase is one of the most specious in the English language. It’s a head nod toward contrition, but it’s utterly devoid of sincerity.

There are at least three major problems with these seven little words.

…

You’ve Been Apologizing the Wrong Way Your Whole LifeRead More »

The One Thing PR Pros Can’t Fake

By Jonathan Rick /

Published on February 21, 2013 in / Apologies, Crisis Communication, Published Writing

Anyone can apologize. Indeed, we all do from time to time. But to do it well — to extinguish the fire rather than re-ignite it — ultimately requires the one thing that even we PR pros can’t fake: sincerity.

…

The One Thing PR Pros Can’t FakeRead More »

How KitchenAid Pureed a Twitter Crisis Into a PR Coup

By Jonathan Rick /

Published on October 5, 2012 in / Apologies, Crisis Communication, Published Writing

Everyone makes mistakes, the saying goes. It’s whether you learn from them that separates the brands that retain your loyalty from the ones you now drive by.

In this context, consider last night’s tweet from KitchenAid that mocked President Obama:

“Obamas gma even knew it was going 2 b bad! ‘She died 3 days b4 he came president’. #nbcpolitics”

Sent from your personal account, where your audience consists of your (like-minded) friends, the tweet would have been par for the live-tweet course: funny and frivolous. However, sent from a corporate channel, the tweet is no longer associated with a person but with a brand—and its products.

…

How KitchenAid Pureed a Twitter Crisis Into a PR CoupRead More »

What Tim Cook Knows That Steve Jobs Didn’t: How to Apologize

By Jonathan Rick /

Published on October 3, 2012 in / Apologies, Crisis Communication, Published Writing

The new master of the mea culpa.

Apple and “apologize” don’t usually fall in the same sentence. In fact, Apple instructs its retail employees to avoid acts of contrition as a matter of principle. “Do not apologize for the business [or] the technology,” its Genius manual commands.

Following this playbook, when faced with the debacle that is Mapplegate, Cupertino’s flacks first tried spin. “We launched this new map service knowing it is a major initiative and that we are just getting started with it,” a spokeswoman told AllThingsD. But the brush-off backfired, hard. As Gizmodo put it, “The New Apple: It Doesn’t Just Work.”

Realizing that the story wasn’t dying down, the time came for the CEO to step up. Tim Cook needed to communicate two things — an apology, and a promise to do better — both of which he did with aplomb.

…

What Tim Cook Knows That Steve Jobs Didn’t: How to ApologizeRead More »