The Moving Finger Writes ...

“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”
―Omar Khayyám

Hearing Sheldon on Big Bang Theory quote Omar Khayyám recently, reminded me of when these fateful words described an interview Thomas A. Vanderslice did with Fortune magazine many years ago. At the time, he was a contender for the top slot at GE, ultimately won by Jack Welch. Mr. Vanderslice made some poorly chosen remarks during his interview that made it into the printed piece. He was promptly eliminated from the running for CEO. 

Today, we have slightly more leeway, with online publications at least, to correct typos, mis-quotes or inaccuracies about our company, products or services. Certainly with blogs, Facebook and Twitter, we have a lot of control and can delete an entire post, or simply fix the error. Still, with printed publications, especially the top newspapers and business publications, it is a lot more complex. If convinced, an editor may agree to print a correction in the next issue, often a month later, to solve the problem. But does it?

Even with online publications where editors are involved, some validation and convincing may be required before they take the time to correct. And often, it does take time even though it may be only a couple of their keystrokes.

Keep Mr. Khayyám’s words in mind and be prepared when giving an interview to news or trade publications. Proof your copy numerous times when writing and submitting your own bylined article. And especially, think twice before you Tweet. CEOs and other company representatives need to use those limited words wisely. Perhaps if you’re CEO of a well-established, successful company, like GE, gratuitous Tweets that don’t demonstrate much thought or depth, or do not appear within any useful context, may be forgiven. But if you’re a start-up seeking investors, or a struggling software company desperate for customers, none of your tears will wash away ill-advised words you’ve written. You risk coming across as appearing uninformed, unprofessional or foolish at best, or just plain lame at worst.

To paraphrase Omar and mix metaphors -- once it’s out there, even in cyberspace, it’s really hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube. 

Oh, in case you’re wondering – Sheldon missed a once in a lifetime opportunity to have gelato with Spiderman co-creator, Stan Lee, for which he blamed Penny.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqt_etlLztQ