Words That Matter in CEO Apologies

Lisa Leopold

by Lisa Leopold: She has previously written about apologies and public figures for The Conversation

It’s not just the actions of a CEO that affect the company’s bottom line. Words matter too. 

After a corporate crisis, the apology issued by the CEO has far-reaching implications for the company’s reputation and financial performance. 

Take Meta, formerly Facebook, as an example.

In 2018, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s apology amid the Cambridge Analytica scandal failed to restore public confidence and negatively impacted the company’s stock price.

In 2015, the well-crafted apology that Chipotle’s former CEO Steve Ells issued after food contamination may have helped create an uptick in the company’s stock price.

Companies which claim responsibility for their own poor performance see improvement in their financial performance. The reverse is also true: companies which blame external factors continue to experience financial decline.

A well-crafted corporate apology has many perks. It can increase customer satisfaction and the likelihood that customers will invest in the company. What’s more, a well-crafted apology can enhance the leader’s reputation too, because leaders who apologize are regarded more favorably than those who don’t.  

What Makes an Effective CEO Apology 

Research shows that well-crafted corporate apologies are timely, show remorse, express empathy, claim responsibility, offer compensation and correct company missteps.

Studies have highlighted particular strategies that are most effective in CEO apologies: namely, remorse, corrective action, and responsibility.

While one study found that claiming responsibility did not significantly affect the public’s perception of CEO apologies, I would argue that deflecting or minimizing responsibility is a grave mis-step in a CEO’s apology. 

In a wide-scale survey about personal apologies, taking ownership for the offense ranked among the top two strategies individuals wanted apologizers to express. The expectation rests with the CEO to provide this in corporate apologies. 

The following tips, drawn from an extensive analysis of public apologies, focus on the words that matter in corporate apologies. These examples show the ways in which CEOs accept or dodge responsibility for a company’s mistakes. 

Tips for Crafting a Corporate Apology

• Do Not Apologize for Others’ Feelings 

When Volkswagen was found to alter emissions data on their vehicles, former CEO Martin Winterkorn said, “I am endlessly sorry that we have disappointed this trust.”

No one can control others’ feelings, so apologizing for feelings masks what the apology should be issued for: the actual transgression. Even worse is apologizing for “any” hurt or harm the transgression has caused, which suggests that no apology is needed if no hurt or harm was caused.

• Specify the Misdeed

When Apple purposely slowed down older iPhone models in 2017 to conserve the battery life, CEO Tim Cook apologized for the lack of transparency: “We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize.”

Without naming Apple’s transgression after the words “we apologize,” it is not clear what Apple is apologizing for. Do they regret their actions or merely that they let some customers down?

Apologizers should name the transgression immediately after “I/we apologize” to avoid ambiguity. In this apology, Cook minimizes the misdeed by casting it as subjective with “feel” and suggesting that only “some” customers were disappointed. 

• Don’t Deny Wrongdoing 

In 2011, former Groupon CEO Andrew Mason issued a statement in response to criticism of the company’s Superbowl commercial which depicted the plight of Tibetans insensitively.

He said, “We would never have run these ads if we thought they trivialized the causes — even if we didn't take them as seriously as we do, what type of company would go out of their way to be so antagonistic?”

Denial of wrongdoing comes in many forms, such as deflecting blame or emphasizing one’s own innocent intentions as Mason has done in this statement.  It’s the direct opposite of owning one’s mistakes.

• Avoid Euphemisms

After a passenger was forcibly removed from a United Airlines aircraft, former CEO Oscar Munoz said, “I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers.”

The passenger who was “re-accommodated” was actually violently dragged off the plane. Euphemisms allow a transgressor to hide behind the offense. In essence, the apologizer reframes the offense as something less serious than what actually occurred, thereby failing to take full responsibility.  

• Avoid the Passive Voice

Amid the Cambridge Analytica scandal involving consumers’ compromised data, CEO Mark Zuckerberg issued an apology: “I am really sorry that happened.” 

The active voice should be used to claim responsibility when apologizing. In Zuckerberg’s apology, the passive construction with “that happened” undermines the control Zuckerberg has over the company’s operations and fails to acknowledge his own culpability. Moreover, “that” fails to adequately characterize the offense in his apology.  

• Use “I” and “My”

In 2022, the tech company Twilio’s CEO Jeff Lawson issued this statement after a massive layoff: “Twilio has grown at an astonishing rate over the past couple of years. It was too fast and without enough focus on our most important company priorities. I take responsibility for those decisions as well as the difficult decision to do this layoff.”

The words “I take responsibility” work well in a CEO’s apology, and more generally, the use of “I” — rather than “we” — for issuing the apology and “my” — rather than “our” — in front of the transgression help the CEO claim ownership for the offense. 

• Accept Blame for the Entire Offense

In 2014, James McNerney, the former CEO of Boeing, responded with an apology for offensive remarks he made about employees when asked whether he would retire at age 65. He indicated that he wouldn’t retire because “the heart will still be beating, the employees will still be cowering.” 

He later apologized for the words he used about employees: “I should have used different words, and I apologize for them. I will definitely be more careful going forward.”

This is a partial apology for the words he said but not the harsh management style those words likely reflected. Perpetrators will sometimes issue a partial apology to avoid being held accountable for a more serious offense.  

• Avoid “But” or “If”

In 2020, Lanfranco Pescante, a co-owner of Tampa restaurants, issued a statement in response to an offensive remark he made on social media indicating “Just shoot them all.” He responded, “I apologize if I offended anyone. I love all people I'm just really frustrated with what I'm seeing going on with the citizens of the United States of all races!”

Anytime “but” or “if” is used in the apology, it undercuts sincerity. One cannot simultaneously accept blame and qualify that the apology is only valid if anyone was offended. 

• Don’t Use “Sorry” Ambiguously

After a massive data breach, the former CEO of Equifax Richard Smith issued an apology which read in part, “To each and every person affected by this breach, I am deeply sorry that this occurred.”

Although this is not the entire apology, “sorry” in this line expresses regret without responsibility. This is especially true given that Smith used the passive voice with “that this occurred” — thereby absolving himself of responsibility for this incident.  

Apologies which follow these tips are more likely to restore public confidence. Leaders should include phrases like “I am responsible,” “I am accountable,” or “I own this” in their apologies and avoid deflecting or minimizing responsibility.  

Lisa Leopold is a former associate professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and was the program coordinator for the Institute’s English for Academic and Professional Purposes Program. She has previously written expertly about apologies and public figures for The Conversation.