Friday, May 17, 2013

Can Executives Apologize?

Tough love in business is hard to find. Break the rules, you should get punished, but usually it depends who broke the rules, when and where.

When this happens, do you hem and haw, or try to spin the blame elsewhere? Or do you take your punishment, admit your guilt or apologize to the offended party and rejoin the office. Hopefully not to repeat the offense again.

In this parsha the subtext of 5:7
7they shall confess the sin they committed, and make restitution for the principal amount of his guilt, add its fifth to it, and give it to the one against whom he was guilty.
The idea that we are fallible, but can be redeemed, is important to push out to your employees. There are many ways to salvage one's efforts, but you must take the first step and confess your guilt.

As we watch executives not take ownership of their companies faults or even their own personal mistakes, it is hard to impress the attitude of ownership for one's actions. If your own leaders fail to admit their guilt, how can one expect their employees or citizens to react any differently. Blaming the weather, the traffic, the people using the product or just lying to save one's skin, is not the way to lead. Can executives apologize? Of course, but not always from the outset. Social media changes this attitude because too many can voice their opinion even if your inner sanctum thinks the opposite. 

Be upfront, confess and move along, but be more wary of your next actions.
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Parsha Naso in the book of Bamidbar, Numbers 4:21-7:89
It is said that the Torah or Bible could be interpreted in over 70 ways. More likely these days 100's of ways. In light of this idea, I am writing some posts that bring a business sense to what we can learn on a weekly basis. Enjoy, Shabbat Shalom

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