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"We set a high bar for ourselves, and we didn't live up to those standards last week. We’re approaching this moment with a Growth Mindset, and squeezing every d

"We set a high bar for ourselves, and we didn't live up to those standards last week. We’re approaching this moment with a Growth Mindset, and squeezing every drop of learning from the unfortunate situation we put our customers in." We, us, our. What can WE learn from this? How do WE grow as a company? We, us, our. This is a case study in poor messaging. Look how much of the writing is about Brex, and how many sentences use one of 'we,' 'us,' or 'our,' and how little is about the actual customers.

colechristensen 4y ago
Classic case of the attempted response being strictly worse than saying nothing.
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xvedejas 4y ago
Isn't this language exactly what you'd expect from a moment of reflection? Pointing the blame back at oneself, and contemplating one's own values? I'm not sure that the over-use of 'we' is much more than some metric you're making up to be a convenient score card for apologies. At least, I'd find a criticism of the actual content more compelling.
- MikeBVaughn 4y ago
  Tone and semantic content are inseparable, whether we want them to be or not, particularly in damage control situations. I can envision ways of writing this article that I would read with a much less cynical lens. In particular, I find the emphasis on growth particularly galling for the following reason: If I'm a fired customer, and you're the company that fired me, what do I care about your growth? That's worth nothing to the fired customer, any argument to the contrary is thoroughly illogical. Thus, I'm forced to conclude that it's only about assuaging the concerns of the customers they're currently willing to retain. The customers Brex left in the ditch still matter just as little as they did last time around. I have no stake in any of this, but reading their communications over the matter leaves a sour note in my mouth, and it seems like a completely unforced error. YMMV, naturally, but I don't respect their approach at all.
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colechristensen 4y ago

Classic case of the attempted response being strictly worse than saying nothing.

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xvedejas 4y ago

Isn't this language exactly what you'd expect from a moment of reflection? Pointing the blame back at oneself, and contemplating one's own values? I'm not sure that the over-use of 'we' is much more than some metric you're making up to be a convenient score card for apologies. At least, I'd find a criticism of the actual content more compelling.

MikeBVaughn 4y ago
Tone and semantic content are inseparable, whether we want them to be or not, particularly in damage control situations. I can envision ways of writing this article that I would read with a much less cynical lens. In particular, I find the emphasis on growth particularly galling for the following reason: If I'm a fired customer, and you're the company that fired me, what do I care about your growth? That's worth nothing to the fired customer, any argument to the contrary is thoroughly illogical. Thus, I'm forced to conclude that it's only about assuaging the concerns of the customers they're currently willing to retain. The customers Brex left in the ditch still matter just as little as they did last time around. I have no stake in any of this, but reading their communications over the matter leaves a sour note in my mouth, and it seems like a completely unforced error. YMMV, naturally, but I don't respect their approach at all.
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