Mistakes were made

Posted by Kate Betts on 6th June 2025

‘Mistakes were made.’

That was the admission by an organisation that had just been fined hundreds of thousands of pounds in a court. Their ‘spokesperson’ (note, not a named person; not the CEO or someone accountable) said “we apologise that in this instance; mistakes were made that meant we fell below our usual standards on our systems and processes.”

That after pleading guilty to two charges.

So, who made the mistakes? Another company? An alien? Or your organisation? Why not admit to the mistakes? You did in court.

It reminded me of the one of the first times I helped an organisation with a reputational issue. It was about 20 years ago, and I was advising a local authority over a damning Serious Case Review into child cruelty. The council leader said to me “I am not going to apologise” despite the review listing over 20 recommendations and clearly criticising the council.

Luckily, I managed to persuade him otherwise, and the ensuing national media coverage was of the council leader saying ‘sorry’. Obviously not great coverage, but not disastrous, and the story was forgotten by the following day. (And the council did take action to sort out their issues.)

Poorly worded apologies or ones that get mangled by your legal team can look awful.

Own up when you got it wrong. Get your CEO to say the words. We all make mistakes and we need to take responsibility when we do. Mistakes are made by people and organisations. They are not just ‘made’. Own them. Learn from them. Say sorry.