Mea culpa, I’m sorry, I would like to apologize (Don’t tell me about it, just go ahead and apologize. I’ll wait.). Yes, we are a society of apologizers. Personally and in business, that hypersensitivity to the feelings of others that, over the last 30 years, has been crowbared into the national mindset by the effete political correctness crowd has us admitting the errors of our ways and begging forgiveness at heretofore unheard of levels of both volumes and frequency—not, as Seinfeld once said, that there’s anything wrong with that. The problem that I have is when those heartfelt—OK, maybe not-so-heartfelt—mea culpas are used as a calculated part of a PR and marketing effort.
Apologies are supposed to do three things: acknowledge guilt, demonstrate a full and complete understanding of the nature of the wrongdoing, and to express both remorse and a willingness to accept the consequences. It’s a bonus if you can also throw...
By Charles M Cooper · June 24 2008
apology, marketing
