Never Apologise Never Explain

Last week we had a couple of contrasts. Four Masters of the Universe competed with each other in abject grovelling and Gordon Brown pursuing his ‘Leith Laundry List’ style of argument interspersed with continuing claims of messianic abilities.
You could argue that the former Masters of the Universe had no option with the tumbrils rolling to the door of the Thatcher room and the assembled gawkers taking up knitting. This was a ritual in which everyone knew their part. The juxtaposition of the grovelling four made for great collage on the evening news
The question is, did this get is anywhere? Did is move us forward 1 mm in terms of building confidence and getting lending moving again. I guess not but then rituals are just that, more heat than light, more show than substance.
Obama admitted to screwing up his appointment of Health Secretary and Performance Tsar, over his appointees’ failure to pay taxes. Obama’s approach was: a fulsome admission, a resolution to learn from mistakes and then a swift resolve to move on. Maybe we could all learn from this.
However, you’ve got to be big enough, credible enough and have enough political and emotional capital to learn from mistakes and get round the Kolb cycle otherwise you look weak. Authority once questioned rarely returns.
Maybe Obama has really set a new trend and his approach to management will resonate even as far as Wall Street (fat chance) but his approach to the campaign offers key management lessons not least how to apologise and benefit.