You’ve made a mistake. Now what?
We all make mistakes. How you handle it is crucial.
Clients usually fall into three categories:
Category 1: Least effective. Live in denial or delusion. Either by insisting that something never happened — or happened very differently — when others can see the facts clearly. Repeating a lie won’t magically make it true.
Think of a little boy asked by his Mother about cookies that disappeared from the cookie jar. Or the Emperor in Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes. The same applies to companies, nonprofits, athletes and other celebrities, politicians, and personal relationships.
Category 2: Barely better. Acknowledge and, if possible, correct the mistake. But you can’t let it go and keep rehashing it in your head and publicly. Eventually, it’ll consume you and undermine your reputation.
This alternative starts strong but falls apart at the end. We see this most often with clients overwhelmed by the fact that something happened in the first place. If left unchecked, the constant rehashing will eat their conscience alive. They turn into a Wall of Worry and shut down.
Category 3: Best response. After you sincerely acknowledge (and, if possible, correct the mistake): Move forward! Shift the spotlight and don’t dwell on it. And don’t forget to be sincere (or at least seem so.) And don’t forget to be sincere (or at least don’t make it look like a kid forced to apologize. You know, say you’re sorry. “Sorry.” sorry for what? “Sorry I did the thing.”
Examples of Category 3 are harder to come by. Why? Because their quick action either stops an issue from becoming a full-blown crisis, didn’t make headlines, OR it’s a one-day blip on the news radar that it didn’t get seared into our memory.
Regardless of which category you fall into, your best defense is having someone whose opinion you trust and who’s able to be objective. Because if you don’t trust them, you won’t give their opinion any credence. And if they can’t be objective, then how do you know they’re giving you fair advice?
To read more about moving forward, see “How’d This Mess Happen?”
For a deeper glimpse into our world, see our book on Amazon, A Lawyer’s Guide to Crisis PR: Protecting Your Clients In & From the Media.
If you don’t already subscribe, please sign up for our blog, Insights on High-Stakes PR.
You can reach Roger Gillott and Eden Gillott directly at 310-396-8696.
Gillott Communications is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm that specializes in high-stakes Crisis & Reputation Management with more than 50 years of expertise in strategic communications, corporate public relations, and working with the media.
Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn where we share amazing tips on how to protect your reputation and mitigate damage during a crisis.