Is it Enough to Just Say You’re Sorry?

When we were little kids, we were always told to apologize if we had done something wrong.  But as kids, we might not have understood what sincerity means when it comes to saying sorry. Most often we would mumble “I’m sorry” knowing that it meant we might not get grounded or have our favorite toy taken away.

Face it, we’re all going to make mistakes, whether in our personal lives or our professional lives. But when that happens, owning up to that mistake will go a long way.  Be sincere in your apology and do what you can do to not do it again.

But what happens when the apology falls flat, isn’t sincere, isn’t believable?

Social media has given everyone a platform to share their views, promote their businesses and expertise, sometimes expressing displeasure, other times congratulating someone for a job well-done.  But when social media is used to bully someone? That’s a whole different ballgame.

Using social media means the user has the responsibility to take ownership of what they share across the various platforms.  And it is important to remember that nothing really goes away.  Something you shared on Twitter five years ago is searchable and findable.

And what happens when something you said resurfaces and those 140 characters that you thought were funny or edgy are anything but. What can you do? What should you do?

I had an opportunity to talk about that recently with Fox10Arizona morning.  We discussed the impact of social media and whether or not it is possible to apologize for it.  I believe it is possible, but actions speak louder than words and what you do following the apology may be more important than the apology itself.  Check it out here:

Adrian and I dug in a little deeper on this week’s episode of Copper State of Mind, discussing sincerity and the real impact an apology can have.  Give it a listen:

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