How to Apologize — and show that you mean it.
There are specific steps you should take when you apologize. The following link is an interview I did on the subject but I’ll recap for you here:
-Review your position with the legal department
-Recognize your mistake and acknowledge your fault
-show Regret sincerely
-take Responsibility with no blame toward others
-explain the Remedy you have to offer to correct [...]
Why Do Some CEOs Seem To Go From Great to Not-So-Great
We’ve seen CEOs attacked for Wall Street greed, questioned by Congressional committees, exposed on “60 Minutes”, and led to prison in handcuffs. How did those business heads turn into incompetent and/or dishonest crooks and low-life’s?
We assume power corrupted them. Not so. Usually, he (or she) was rotten from the start- he was just under the radar until he got into the visible top job; he didn’t become incompetent but was always incompetent as a business leader. So what happened?
-He was able to ride his predecessor’s coattails for a while. (That’s why corporate analysts always look at how long a CEO has been in place when rating them.) He was unable to maintain what the previous CEO established and it caught up with him when more was needed.
-He got rid of good subordinates for some reason, usually personal insecurity or lack of political savvy to keep good people. He wasn’t able to retain a lot of competent people he depended on and they quit and left; he then hired incompetent people to replace them.
-Changes in his life: divorce, illness, and/or money problems. Although every one has similar problems he didn’t deal with it well. He got interested in doing other things (sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll).
-He was no longer interested in growth of the company, and lost his concentration and concern. “I took a 132 year-old company down. I managed to put it out of business. I knew I was making bad decisions. I became incompetent, started to mistrust others, and got rid of good subordinates.”
-No one was watching; no one was there to say “no” to his greed. He didn’t turn greedy, he was always greedy and the opportunity presented itself to act. “It was there for the taking and everybody else was doing it.” Although technically talented in something, he had no morale code to withstand rigors of top job requirements over time.
All CEOs are not great leaders (they aren’t all grown-up Eagle Scouts), they are just people who were talented in some area at some point in time that got them into the top job. Getting there is different from staying there.
