Why CEOs’ don’t use the word “sorry”

It’s enough to send you searching for your blood pressure meds when the CEOs parade before Congress without even a thought of an apology.  I mean, what does it take for a CEO to finally admit that he/she, at the very least, let this financial crisis develop, profitted hugely from it and became part of the problem. The hubris is stunning. USA Today has an article on the phenomenon.

NPR has a Saturday piece on teaching doctors to say “I’m sorry” and how much further ahead they would be when it comes to lawsuits and the financial hits they entail. The point of the piece was that all that many people want is a sorry. They don’t start out wanting the money. They know that good people make mistakes. This is not a mystery to them, even when they pay the cost for them. A “sorry” goes a long way to satisfying the patient or the patient’s family. It turns the doctor into part of the team rather than the enemy. Of course, many doctors are afraid that a sorry is an admission of guilt and will be used against them in a court of law. It may. But it does more good than harm statistically.

When I was going into the ministry my pastor said that the hardest thing I would go through and deal with would not be my sins but my mistakes – my mistakes in decision making, decisions that would really hurt people, decisions the church would have to pay the price for simply because I made a wrong call. He was right. I have heard plenty of pastors apologize for their sins – public admissions of immorality, etc. But I don’t remember ever hearing an admission of stupid decisions – a building program at the wrong time, a wrong handling of a conflict, a ministry initiative that went bust, etc. Real people pay a price for these kind of things and need to know they are not fodder for the pastor’s own dream machine. I can only think of King Saul in contrast to John the Baptist, a comparison and contrast Gordon MacDonald draws out – the difference between a called life and a driven life.

Leaders are paid to get it right. But getting it wrong is just part of the story, every story. Apologizing should be part of leadership.

Polish out your glasses’ scratches with toothpaste

Yep, you betcha. It really works. My ministry assistant took her awfully scratched glasses and kept at the polishing and soon the scratches were gone. This procedure will also take off the antiglare coating if you have it. You don’t need it anyway. It’s not like the lights of Hollywood are too bright.

Anyway just google the words toothpaste and scratched glasses and you will get numerous sites. Just use regular toothpaste and not the extra grit kind. Use a soft cloth and a small dab of toothpaste and start using circular motions like the Karate Kid. Rinse-look-and continue if needed. It took my friend about ten or so series of polishings. That’ll save her several hundred dollars. Of course, the optician said it couldn’t be done and she would need a new pair. Could it be a conflict of interest? You betcha.

Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic

Click here for a chapter from this soon to be released book by Anne jackson. If you have ever given your heart to the church and had it broken, this is a book for you. My impression is that there are a lot of books out there like this. Like any organization of people, a lot of stuff goes on in the church. Get used to it.