I've been watching a drama unfold on Facebook. It involves two prominent craft industry professionals. A company caught blatantly copying and a designer unexpectedly blindsided. It was, to anyone observing, completely obvious. It was extremely unfortunate. The copycat had an opportunity to admit, yes, they made a mistake. They could and should have turned a very public PR nightmare into an opportunity for dialog and transparency. The situation has escalated. The designer has moved forward and is back to posting positive, uplifting, inspiring posts. The offending party has refused to let it go. They have continued posting a series of snarky, unfortunate comments and pictures in a desperate attempt to prove themselves innocent. With every post, I wince a little more. It appears that they fully believe that they can win in the court of public opinion. They've already lost. They got caught with their hand in the glitter jar and they have refused to back down.
It's fascinating to watch, because this refusal to apologize, to admit making a mistake, to take ownership of bad behavior is rampant these days. Excuse making has become an art form. It's not my fault, see, because everyone's doing it! So there. People not only feel a complete lack of compunction when freely 'borrowing' ideas, but they feel affronted when confronted.
What? How dare you! Why, I never. Harumph.
It's amazing how powerful a simple, straight forward apology can be. In this age of viral communication, it's harder to deny the truth. In this case, the emperor truly had no clothes and no amount of posturing or excuse making can change that fact.
Being able to admit that you're wrong is a sign of true character.
We all make mistakes.
We all exercise poor judgment sometimes.
We are defined by how we move from these mistakes.
Life is a series of choices, consequences and reactions to the consequences of our choices.
Choose wisely.
xoxo
Madge
Get your copy of my new e-book The Fine Art of Shameless Self Promotion: Masterful Marketing and Bodacious Branding for the Enterprising Entrepreneur today, use the code CHA Winter during checkout for a 20% discount!
It's fascinating to watch, because this refusal to apologize, to admit making a mistake, to take ownership of bad behavior is rampant these days. Excuse making has become an art form. It's not my fault, see, because everyone's doing it! So there. People not only feel a complete lack of compunction when freely 'borrowing' ideas, but they feel affronted when confronted.
What? How dare you! Why, I never. Harumph.
It's amazing how powerful a simple, straight forward apology can be. In this age of viral communication, it's harder to deny the truth. In this case, the emperor truly had no clothes and no amount of posturing or excuse making can change that fact.
Being able to admit that you're wrong is a sign of true character.
We all make mistakes.
We all exercise poor judgment sometimes.
We are defined by how we move from these mistakes.
Life is a series of choices, consequences and reactions to the consequences of our choices.
Choose wisely.
xoxo
Madge
Get your copy of my new e-book The Fine Art of Shameless Self Promotion: Masterful Marketing and Bodacious Branding for the Enterprising Entrepreneur today, use the code CHA Winter during checkout for a 20% discount!
Well said, as usual.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Aimee
Thanks, Aimee!
ReplyDeleteBravo! That company truly has sunk down into a swamp of ridiculousness, if that's a word...
ReplyDeleteYup, and I concur. It's so much easier to say, "I'm sorry."
ReplyDeleteHere here!
ReplyDeleteBless you Margot! Your words are ringing deep in my heart. hugs
ReplyDeleteKeep shining, the truth will out, karma works and good guys do win. Xoxo.
ReplyDeleteI've felt the same way. It has been hard to see those snarky posts and NOT say something in defense of the artist they stole from. I bite my tongue because ignoring them is better than giving them any attention.
ReplyDeleteI know they are continuing to give themselves more and more rope to hang themselves with. I know that the public isn't stupid and we will ALL chose to spend our $$$ at companies we know and trust, and not buy product from people who gloat about copying others. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, and the copycat company is getting a LOT of it right now. With every bitchy and snarky post they make, they alienate more and more customers.
The truth will come out and the good guys DO win. In the end I think we all know who will be smelling like a rose and who will be smelling like a cesspool. XO