Professional Chaos: Take responsibility

Kenneth Lay died this week at age 64. For all his personal accomplishments during his career, he will be remembered mainly as a liar and schemer, responsible for devastating thousands of employees and investors financially.

If you tell a lie often enough, you eventually believe it’s true. Apparently, he still maintained his innocence to the end.

Lesson learned… Don’t be remembered for being a selfish, scheming liar.

If you make a mistake…

• Take responsibility for your actions. Don’t cover them up or try to shift the blame elsewhere.
• Assess the damage and come up with an action plan to immediately correct it.
• Notify your supervisor or person(s) affected as soon as possible.
• Accept the consequences of your actions — good or bad.

People are more willing to forgive you and move on if your honest and up front. The longer you delay, the worse the repercussions may be. If your honest, at least you’ll sleep better at night and keep your dignity.

I hope you take this to heart. Do the right thing! Your legacy depends on it.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional who takes responsibility for his own actions. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.