The Apology Impulse Buchzusammenfassung - das Wichtigste aus The Apology Impulse

Einleitung anhören

00:00

Zusammenfassung von The Apology Impulse

Name: The Apology Impulse
Rating: 4.3 (152 reviews)
Author: Cary Cooper and Sean O’Meara

Cary Cooper and Sean O’Meara

How the Business World Ruined Sorry and Why We Can’t Stop Saying It

4.3 (152 Bewertungen)

21 Min.

Themen

Inhaltsübersicht

The Apology Impulse
in 7 Kernaussagen verstehen

Audio & Text in der Blinkist App

Kernaussage 1 von 7

What’s in it for me? Reclaim the powerful ritual of saying sorry.

Saying sorry and asking for forgiveness is an essential human ritual. It indicates that we can tell when we’ve done something wrong, and that we’re able to take responsibility. That’s why every major religion includes acts of repentance, and parents go to such great lengths to teach their toddlers to apologize as soon as they can speak. Saying sorry is an invaluable part of what allows us to live together in communities. It’s a social glue.

But these days, apologies are being issued so frequently that they’ve completely lost their value. And often, apologies are being formulated so evasively by lawyers and PR teams that they’re actually excuses or defenses dressed up as an apology.

So how do we reclaim the power of a good apology? These blinks will show you how to see through all the corporate waffle and identify when an apology is genuine. They’ll teach you how to center wronged parties in an apology and address their grievances. Lastly, they’ll help you discover that sometimes the best course of action is not to apologize at all.

Along the way you’ll also learn

how viral news sites have fueled an apology industry;
why KFC was forgiven for running out of chicken; and
why airlines apologize so much more often than banks.

Corporations are apologizing so much that saying sorry has lost its meaning.

In the first few months of 2014, American Airlines apologized to customers an astonishing 200 times per day. You might think that they were in the midst of a huge crisis, but in fact, things were going smoothly. They were apologizing for minor grievances such as delays and meals that weren’t to customers’ satisfaction.

Industries like airlines, taxi services, and supermarkets are especially sensitive to customer complaints because it’s very easy for a customer to change companies if they’re unhappy. If you book a Ryanair flight and then get angry about not being able to check your pet canary in, you can always try your luck with easyJet instead. But if you get annoyed with your bank, you’ll have to go through a lot of tedious admin in order to change. That means “high friction” industries like banks and telecom companies invest a lot less energy in customer service, while “low friction” ones, like airlines, have to work very hard to keep your custom.

The advent of social media has meant that customers get to air their grievances on the world stage. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter give companies a way to directly interact with their customers, which can have enormous advantages for strengthening their brands. But on the other side, it gives customers a perfect platform to “name and shame” corporations who have displeased them. To appease such customers, corporations have taken to apologizing – all the time.

While this outpouring of remorse might seem like a positive thing, it’s actually made the act of saying sorry lose its meaning. If a company employs a strategy of tactical appeasement in response to every complaint, it weakens the legitimacy of genuine apologies.

Corporations need to keep a sense of proportion when deciding if – and how – to apologize. Making a grovelling apology for a minor transgression makes light of more serious injuries. When Tesco said that they were “very sorry” for the life-threatening mistake of dispensing the wrong medication to a customer, they sounded sincere. However, they also said they were “very sorry” for mistakenly labelling dress-up costumes. One mistake could cause serious illness or even death, while the other is completely trivial. Treating them as worthy of the same kind of apology is absurd.

When it comes to apologies, quality trumps quantity. Apologizing selectively actually increases an organization’s credibility. It also shows that it’s able to be genuinely reflective, and that when it says sorry it really means it.

Outrage capitalism has fueled transactional apologies.

Out of all the items that come up on your news feed, how many are stories about corporate wrongdoing? These stories have become commonplace. But the truth is, customer complaints would begin and end on Twitter if it weren’t for the collusion of the media in promoting them as big news.

Viral news writers have worked out a sure-fire formula for getting people to read and share stories: appealing to their sense of outrage. The best way to do that is with narratives about innocent customers fighting against villainous corporations. That’s why writers are constantly on the lookout for juicy customer complaints. When they report on them, a tweet which may have been instantly buried on Twitter is suddenly given a lot of exposure, amplifying the story and putting even more pressure on the corporation to apologize. When they do, journalists are given yet another headline as they report on one more corporation making a “humiliating” apology.

Companies are making promises that they can’t live up to.

On a cold winter day in 2018, hungry British families lined up at KFC for a serving of the company’s famous chicken, only to be told that the store had completely run out! More than half of UK branches had run out of the crucial ingredient, and had to summarily close their doors.

Customers were a little grumpy, but their intrinsic faith in the brand wasn’t shaken. In fact, when KFC ran an ad saying “FCK, we’re sorry,” customers laughed along and put the incident behind them. Everyone understands that logistics occasionally don’t go as planned.

Corporations have mastered the art of saying sorry, not sorry.

The cast of La La Land had a few seconds of pure euphoria when they won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2017. But euphoria turned to disbelief when it was revealed that they hadn’t won it at all; Moonlight was the true recipient. The organizers, PricewaterhouseCoopers, had bungled the envelopes with the winner’s names.

In a statement released the next day, PwC said, “We apologize…for the error that was made.” At first, it might sound like PwC was taking responsibility. But by using the passive voice, it was sneakily trying to squirm out of doing just that.

Companies are forgetting that apologies must always be centered on the injured parties.

Imagine you fall in a hole that’s been left in the sidewalk by some construction workers, injuring your leg. When you complain, the building company responds by telling you how stressful and hard the situation is for them. Chances are, you’ll be even more upset by that response.

It might seem very obvious that an apology should focus on the people who have been hurt. But many corporations make the mistake of focusing on how the situation is affecting them, rather than the injured party.

Saying sorry isn’t enough. Companies have to walk their talk.

In 2010, a young, hoodie-clad Mark Zuckerberg apologized to Facebook users for violating their privacy and vowed to do better. He had recently started Facebook, and people accepted that there were teething problems; they forgave the apparent lapse.

In 2018, Zuckerberg had to apologize again for breaches in data security, this time in the context of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Eight years after his first apology, his second didn’t hold much weight. It’s not enough to say you’ll change. You have to actually follow through.

Sometimes it’s better not to apologize at all.

You might think that when you complain about a company, you’re talking about an abstract, faceless entity. But really, behind any organization’s PR strategy there’s a team of real people, and they’re often quaking in their boots when on the receiving end of a negative social media campaign.

When you have thousands of angry tweets and Facebook posts accusing your company of the worst possible things and threatening a boycott, it can be easy to panic and try to do anything to appease them.

Du möchtest die gesamte Zusammenfassung von The Apology Impulse sehen?

Kernaussagen in The Apology Impulse

Mehr Wissen in weniger Zeit

Sachbücher auf den Punkt gebracht

Kernaussagen aus Sachbüchern in ca. 15 Minuten pro Titel lesen & anhören mit den „Blinks”

Zeitsparende Empfehlungen

Titel, die dein Leben bereichern, passend zu deinen Interessen und Zielen

Podcasts in Kurzform ^Neu

Kernaussagen wichtiger Podcasts im Kurzformat mit den neuen „Shortcasts”

Worum geht es in The Apology Impulse?

The Apology Impulse (2019) reveals how corporations have cheapened the act of saying sorry. These days, apologies are issued to customers for any perceived slight, with the sheer quantity making them meaningless. At the same time, corporations offer weak, jargon-filled fauxpologies in situations where real apologies are required. To save the apology, corporations need to learn how to say sorry wholeheartedly but only when strictly necessary.

Wer The Apology Impulse lesen sollte

PR experts who want to learn how to connect with the public authentically
Guilty parties who want to make amends, but don’t know how
Sociology buffs who are fascinated by social rituals and human behavior

Über den Autor

Sir Cary Cooper is a professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at the Manchester Business School. He is president of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development as well as the Institute of Welfare.

Sean O’Meara is a publicist and writer who founded the public relations consultancy Essential Content.

Kategorien mit The Apology Impulse

Marketing & Vertrieb Unternehmenskultur

Ähnlich wie The Apology Impulse

Communicate in a Crisis

Kate Hartley

Understand, Engage and Influence Consumer Behaviour to Maximize Brand Trust

What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know

21 min

4.1

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Timeless Stoic and Buddhist philosophy

33 min

4.6

Successful Time Management

Patrick Forsyth

How to be Organized, Productive and Get Things Done

A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today's Digital Consumer

Achieve Success by Living With Purpose

Humanizing Your Brand in the Age of Social Media and AI

A Brief History of Humankind

Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation

Developing Mental Agility and Resilience to Thrive in Uncertainty

How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations into Breakthroughs

The “How To” book that gives YOU a “Check Up” from the “Neck Up” to eliminate “Stinkin Thinkin” and AVOID “Hardening of the Attitudes”

20 min

4.3

The Wellness Syndrome

Carl Cederström and André Spicer

Why healthy living isn't all it says it is

12 min

3.0

Mastering Communication at Work

Ethan F. Becker and Jon Wortmann

How to Lead, Manage, and Influence

Quit Your Day Job, Start Your Own Business, and Live Happily Ever After

19 min

3.0

Tiny Beautiful Things

Cheryl Strayed

Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos

Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience

The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking

How Looking Backward Moves us Forward

The Foundations of Business Strategy

16 min

4.5

Simple Tips, Smart Ideas

Erica Wolfe-Murray

Build a bigger, better business

Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment

The Power of Self-Discipline

Reclaiming Life from Work

The Secrets to Living Your Longest, Healthiest Life

16 min

4.6

The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication

John C. Maxwell

Apply Them and Make the Most of Your Message

The book that launched a revolution

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A Tale About the Human Condition and the Search for Happiness

19 min

4.9

Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess

Caroline Leaf

5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking

Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life.

22 min

4.5

The Art of Insubordination

Todd B. Kashdan

How to Dissent and Defy Effectively

27 min

4.2

You Can Negotiate Anything

Herb Cohen

Anything you want, you got it

16 min

4.2

How to Be a People Magnet

Leil Lowndes

Finding Friends – and Lovers – and Keeping Them for Life

16 min

4.5

The Power of a Positive No

William Ury

How to Say No and Still Get to Yes

One Boy’s Desire for Reinvention to Climb the Social Ladder

22 min

4.5

The Advice Trap

Michael Bungay Stanier

Be Humble, Stay Curious & Change the Way You Lead Forever

17 min

4.6

Get Out of Your Own Way

Dave Hollis

A Skeptic’s Guide to Growth and Fulfillment

23 min

4.1

Clearer, Closer, Better

Emily Balcetis

How Successful People See the World

How Brands Tune In and Build Credibility

22 min

4.0

Making Habits, Breaking Habits

Jeremy Dean

Why We Do Things, Why We Don’t, and How to Make Any Change Stick

11 min

4.1

The Storytelling Animal

Jonathan Gottschall

How Stories Make Us Human

How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness

20 min

4.7

The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel van der Kolk

Mind, Brain and the Body in the Transformation of Trauma

18 min

4.5

Excellent Advice for Living

Kevin Kelly

Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier

How to Thrive, Survive, and Feel Alive

17 min

4.5

DIRTY LAUNDRY

Richard Pink & Roxanne Emery

Why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help

17 min

4.4

❤️ für Blinkist️️️

Ines S.

Ich bin begeistert. Ich liebe Bücher aber durch zwei kleine Kinder komme ich einfach nicht zum Lesen. Und ja, viele Bücher haben viel bla bla und die Quintessenz ist eigentlich ein Bruchteil.

Genau dafür ist Blinkist total genial! Es wird auf das Wesentliche reduziert, die Blinks sind gut verständlich, gut zusammengefasst und auch hörbar! Das ist super. 80 Euro für ein ganzes Jahr klingt viel, aber dafür unbegrenzt Zugriff auf 3000 Bücher. Und dieses Wissen und die Zeitersparnis ist unbezahlbar.

Ekaterina S.

Extrem empfehlenswert. Statt sinnlos im Facebook zu scrollen höre ich jetzt täglich zwischen 3-4 "Bücher". Bei manchen wird schnelle klar, dass der Kauf unnötig ist, da schon das wichtigste zusammen gefasst wurde..bei anderen macht es Lust doch das Buch selbständig zu lesen. Wirklich toll

Nils S.

Einer der besten, bequemsten und sinnvollsten Apps die auf ein Handy gehören. Jeden morgen 15-20 Minuten für die eigene Weiterbildung/Entwicklung oder Wissen.

Julia P.

Viele tolle Bücher, auf deren Kernaussagen reduziert- präzise und ansprechend zusammengefasst. Endlich habe ich das Gefühl, Zeit für Bücher zu finden, für die ich sonst keine Zeit habe.