Morning Advantage: Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word
HBR.org 2012-07-12
The value of saying you're sorry has been demonstrated time and again. When companies and executives apologize for their missteps it can reduce the costs of lawsuits, retain committed customers, even create opportunities for building a more transparent and respectful workplace. And yet despite the clear benefits of apologizing, few business leaders actually do it, notes David De Cremer in Business Strategy Review. What gives? Here's one big reason: ego. De Cremer's research found that perpetrators who apologized for their mistakes reported lower moral self-esteem than those not apologizing. "This suggests that the act of apologising reminds perpetrators of their bad and transgressing behaviour and has a negative impact on their moral self-image" he writes. It also helps explain why perpetrators considered apologies as very stressful and difficult. But here's the good news: when perpetrators actually delivered an apology, they reported it being less stressful and experienced less difficulties than they had imagined. "The reality appears to be that perpetrators overestimate how difficult and stressful the delivery of a self-threatening apology really is." In other words, suck it up and do the right thing: it won't be as bad as you think.
America Needs to Publish an Annual Report (Knowledge@Wharton)
What would an annual report by the U.S. government look like? It would be written in simple language and it wouldn’t shy away from squirm-inducing statements such as the country isn’t likely to maintain its standard of living if people continue to expect to be supported "by government spending for more than one-third of their lives," i.e. in retirement, say Jay Clayton and several coauthors. Shareholders are used to getting this kind of blunt communication about the most significant issues facing the companies they invest in — so why shouldn't the government provide the same kind of thing for voters? — by Andy O'Connell
Is the Digital Data Boom Creating a Surveillance State? (Big Think)
US law enforcement officials made 1.3 million demands for cellphone subscriber information last year, according to a Congressional inquiry. The increase in digital surveillance requests contrasts sharply with traditional wiretaps, which were only authorized 3,000 times in 2010, although the two surveillance techniques serve the same purpose of intercepting communication between individuals. The practice of collecting data from companies that indiscriminately store their users' data is prompting debate about legal standards and privacy protections.
Issues of Incredibility
Lies and Libor (Slate) When Is Advertising A Waste Of Money? (Bain Insights/Forbes) Workplace Happiness: What's the Secret? (CNN)