Lessons from the Rocket and many others
Posted on May 5, 2008
Filed Under Career Development, Gen X, Gen Y
Unless you’ve been away from the planet lately, you’ve heard of Roger ‘the Rocket’ Clemens and his challenges with telling the truth. Whether it be steroid use or his fidelity, Roger hasn’t learned from those who’ve come before him. Last week rumors came out that he’d had a 10+ year affair with country singer Mindy McCready. Roger could have sidestepped his latest nightmare by saying ‘yes, I had an affair and I’m sorry’, but the denials had barely escaped his lips when Ms McCready admitted the affair. You could have clocked, the whole thing with an egg timer. Fast forward 24 hours and the skanks came out of the woodwork to pile on the Clemens affair bandwagon. From the New York bartender to one of golfer John Daly’s ex-wives, they lined up to admit carnal knowledge of the pitcher. It was about this time, that some mathematician figured out that if Clemens and McCready had a 10 year affair, that meant that she was 15 when the affair started. Oops, it just gets worse.
Remember the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky mess? The one thing that killed me was that we all knew Clinton did it. Exactly what ‘did it’ means isn’t really important, but we know in addition to treating an intern like a humidor, Clinton stepped over the line. Now it’s much too late to worry about passing judgment, history will judge Clinton based on how he managed the country, extracurricular affairs aside. Sadly had he owned up to the affair, he could have saved himself a lot of embarrassment and all of us a lot time and taxpayer money. Damn blue dress.
It’s always fascinating the lessons people don’t learn. When I was little, I remember my dad telling me to tell the truth no matter how bad it was. If he caught me in a lie, the punishment would be much worse. Sound advice, of course it took a few trips to woodshed to learn it. As I’ve moved through the professional ranks, Dad’s rules still apply. If you do something stupid/wrong/whatever, just own up to it. If you try to cover it up it just gets worse. Yes when it comes to telling the truth, what applies in our personal lives absolutely applies at work. Get in front of your mistakes, engage your boss in damage control, and take your lumps. Much better than denying it only to get reprimanded or fired later. Remember Watergate? Ugh…they never learn.
Until next time…
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