Vol. 68: The Keys to an Apology

Integrity, vulnerability and humility: keys to an apology

 

“Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.”  — Ezra Taft Benson

I was ready to return to our series on strategic finance after my last column about the integrity of umpire Jim Joyce and the accountability of BP… until I read a comment in the Washington Post by Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University.

Citing Henry Ford’s infamous quote, “Never complain, never explain,” as the preferred way for business leaders to deal with disasters like the Gulf oil spill took me by surprise.

BP is the poster child for a failed apology

In appearing to criticize BP’s CEO Tony Hayward for apologizing for BP’s actions, Mr. Pfeffer extols the value of being on the “winning side,” that people respect strength and diffidence does not convey winning or power. Research in social psychology, he continues, “shows that acting embarrassed or remorseful conveys less power and results in less favorable impressions than acting angry.”

In the context of BP’s PR debacle, those comments seem wildly misplaced. Does Mr. Pfeffer think BP would have won our hearts and minds by taking no responsibility, “never explaining,” and that he should have acted like he was angry that people blamed BP for this unexpected accident? I can’t imagine worse advice than if I recommended that you chase down every meal with a quart of engine oil.

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Read more about the article Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Birthday, America!

Today is usually a day for hot dogs, parades and festive celebrations of the birth of this wonderful nation we inhabit.

In that spirit, I’d like to dedicate this holiday to a dear family friend, Cpt. Kevin Mott, an Army Ranger who was badly wounded in Afghanistan this week and is returning to the U.S. for treatment. Our hearts and prayers are with him and his family for a rapid and full recovery.

Another day, we can debate the wisdom of our foreign policy and the wars in which we’re currently engaged … but today, I’d like to pay tribute to Kevin and the men and women with whom he serves. We stand straighter because of their bravery and commitment and shed tears for their innocence and selflessness as they put themselves in harms way for the country to which they give so much and from which they ask so little.

They aren’t encamped on a comfortable bar stool celebrating Independence Day. They’re carrying out their mission in the unforgiving terrain of the Korengal Valley and Kunar Province of Afghanistan, without electricity, plumbing or running water, (more…)

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Read more about the article Show me the money!

Show me the money!

You wouldn’t think it would be too hard to sort out whether this is no small business lending because there is no capital … or because small businesses aren’t asking. There’s a lot here so keep reading if you want to gain a better understanding of what’s REALLY going on.

The Wall Street Journal recently carried an article, Big Bank’s Lending Programs Yielding Few Results So Far, which summarizes efforts by big banks like Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup and Bank of America, under pressure from the Obama Administration, to launch programs to increase lending to entrepreneurs. Most of these programs are Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI’s) – oh, great, another financial algorithm – which primarily lend to small businesses in low income areas – a worthy program but hardly a program targeted at the broad small business community.

Three days earlier in, A Credit Crunch That Lingers, the WSJ pointed out that only half of small businesses that tried to borrow last year got what they needed according to (more…)

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