There's a right way and a wrong way to say sorry. This is the right way.

In July, when U.S. President Barack Obama overstepped the mark and made an inappropriate and ignorant remark when commenting on a local police situation in Massachusetts, he refused to apologise for his mistake, instead using the weasel words "I could have calibrated those words differently" as his excuse.

Closer to home, Sydney chef Neil Perry got what he deserved with his curt and sarcastic reply when responding by e-mail to an unhappy customer who dined at one of his restaurants recently. The e-mail exchange quickly went viral on the Internet, exposing Perry's poor attitude to people far and wide.

In contrast, when Michael Katz of Blue Penguin Development, publisher of the popular "E-Newsletter on E-Newsletters", made a mistake in his choice of joint venture partner recently, he not only apologised, he took full responsibility for the bad behaviour of that partner.

As soon as he discovered the problem, he sent out a message to his subscriber list (click the picture to read the details):



This is the right way to apologise for a mistake. No excuses. No backing down. No passing the buck. I'm sure he regrets what happened, but I'm also sure this has enhanced - not harmed - his reputation.