Last week Mark Zuckerberg made the news yet, again and again, we learn something new about his vision for his company and how fiercely he’s willing to protect it.
Why does everything have to be “leaked” nowadays?
If you haven’t heard by now, Mr. Zuckerberg was caught on leaked audio files discussing his plans if Elizabeth Warren were to be elected President of the United States. It should come as no surprise that Zuckerberg is willing to fight it out when it comes to his company and future visions, but what about those audio files, is that really fair?
Why does it seem like we only get the true visions and feelings from unauthorized personal recordings? If you run a company and you’re talking to employees or the board, should you say things that you’re going to have to defend? There’s a lot to unpack there. We can’t be shocked when these things happen anymore, they’re frequent enough that these recordings have to be a thought or in the least planned on.
When you’re a high profile individual, whether an owner, a brand president, an agent, a billionaire, you have to be thinking that you’re always being recorded. It’s shitty, but it’s really the only way I can see how to be prepared. A quick internet search for “leaked audio” will show you just how common this tends to be. Hell, Google Trends even shows a nice little graph over the past five years, I’ll spare you the look, it’s up over that time. Don’t even get me started with the leaks coming out of Washington, either, ugh.
Quit acting surprised, you’re on camera now.
You have to be prepared, start thinking about it more and more. If you’re ever in a situation and you find yourself saying something that maybe later you’d phrase a little differently, take the time and think it all the way through. Sure, this sounds like obvious advice, but it’s important to remember.
It really shouldn’t matter if you’re the newest hire or oldest manager saying something inappropriate, unethical, misleading, or downright mean isn’t going to be tolerated or accepted in most cases. Now, we’ve all got that friend that’s the habitual line stepper so we shouldn’t pretend we’re perfect all the time either, or so easily offended.
Bottom line: Don’t be a dummy and say something you’ll regret later.