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Own Up to Your Mistakes
October 1, 2004
(PAGE 2 of 2)
Rather than listen to your customers, you denigrated them. You downright glowered at them. You held them in contempt for not appreciating the beautiful décor of your restaurant. But far be it for anyone to say that you were rude. Oh, no. Your customers were the ones who were rude. Your customers were not of the right crowd. The right crowd would have given it a good review. But you couldn’t stop there, could you?
You had to go ahead and call the two particular customers in question, “those two old Jewish fat ladies…the pinnacle of the New York jaded old bags.” When you found out that Stacy Rotner, who is Jewish, had overheard you, what did you do? Did you apologize to her? Did you say you didn’t mean it the way it came out? No, you lashed out at her. “Call me a bigot or racist—that’s getting personal.” You wouldn’t stop. You hammered away at her. You screamed, “Will you stop causing controversy?” You weren’t causing controversy. Uh-uh. She was. You were right. She was wrong.
Now it looks like the company you work for in real life has fired you for your remarks. Once again, I’m sure you’ll say you are right. Your company is wrong. You’ll be indignant. Your words were taken out of context. You didn’t mean them like they came out. You were the victim of a hatchet job in the editing room. You’re part Jewish. On and on, you’ll go. But never once will you say you were wrong.
What you don’t get is that even if everything you say is completely true, it doesn’t matter. Perceptions are everything, especially in business. People fail and succeed based upon perception. Not upon reality. So do brands and companies. Your mistake, the one that you won’t own up to, is that you didn’t think before you opened up that big mouth of yours. Trump and Carolyn must have told you a thousand times in the boardroom to shut up, but you just couldn’t do it. You just can’t stop yourself. You just can’t think before you speak. If you had thought for even a second before you opened your trap, you would have realized a few things. You weren’t in the privacy of your own home talking to a close girlfriend who “got it.” You were on camera for an audience of millions. You would have realized how poorly what you said would come off.
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You wouldn’t have said what you did directly to their face, so why would you broadcast it to the nation? Did you ever stop to think who may be listening? Did you consider that people at your company and its clientele may be Jewish? Did you ever pause to reflect on how they may take your unkind remarks? You obviously didn’t at the time, and what’s worse, you never did since making them. You didn’t apologize to Stacy and you didn’t apologize to the audience. You failed to consider that perception counts. You failed to show good business sense. Even on the Today show, you stood your ground and failed to say you’re sorry. Everyone else misunderstood. You were right. They were wrong. What did you get for it? You were fired. By Donald Trump. By your company. Everyone.
Jennifer, do the right thing for once! Don’t insist that you’re right. Own up to your mistake and issue an apology. Say that you were wrong. We want to forgive you. We do. We all see the potential in you. We see how bright and strong you are. We know that you’ll land another terrific job and go on to succeed. But to be a great leader, you must be able to learn from your mistakes. Show us you can.
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Perceptions are everything, especially in business.
