Dear Herky:
On Sept. 14, you published a full-page ad in the Cedar Rapids Gazette offering a $100 discount on the purchase of two season tickets for the upcoming basketball season. (See it: Download Cole.pdf.) It is a terrific ad that features Iowa's sophomore forward Jarryd Cole fully extended for what must have been a monster dunk. Cool. It includes copy that tells of how Cole's dunk "...brought the Buckeyes to their knees and the sellout crowd...to their feet." I wish I could have been there!
But there's a problem: Jarryd wishes he could have been there, too. It turns out that Jarryd tore his ACL before last year's Big Ten season got underway. He didn't set foot on the court for the Ohio State game or any other Big Ten game for that matter. He brought no one to their knees or feet.
So someone on the athletic department's marketing staff must have made a mistake, one that we could move on from easily with a simple acknowledgement of the error. But Herky, when the Gazette asked the athletic department's associate director, Rick Klatt, about the incongruity, here's what he said: "It's not a mistake. No. It's an example of how the word 'slam-dunk' could be used in a sentence." (Cedar Rapids Gazette, Sept.15)
Herky, you're killing me. I took my degree in communications from Iowa and here is a fundamental tenet of public communication (of life, really): if you're guilty of fabrication, whether you intended it or it is a simple mistake, admit it, apologize and move on. Don't compound the problem you've created for yourself.
Using Mr. Klatt's logic, there is nothing wrong with me declaring that the Hawkeyes are this football season's national champions. That will ease the pain of this season a little. After all, it's just an example of how the words "national champions" can be used in a sentence, so all will be well.
But don't print those t-shirts yet, Herk. You have to admit that's pretty thin. Most importantly, it damages -- check that: destroys -- your credibility. People will look askew at everything you say. They'll no longer trust your word.
So Herky, let's do the right thing. Let's do exactly what any smart business would do. Let's admit we were wrong in the first place. Let's apologize for the mistake and refocus on our top priority: being competitive on the court.
Best regards,
Rod
On Sept. 14, you published a full-page ad in the Cedar Rapids Gazette offering a $100 discount on the purchase of two season tickets for the upcoming basketball season. (See it: Download Cole.pdf.) It is a terrific ad that features Iowa's sophomore forward Jarryd Cole fully extended for what must have been a monster dunk. Cool. It includes copy that tells of how Cole's dunk "...brought the Buckeyes to their knees and the sellout crowd...to their feet." I wish I could have been there!
But there's a problem: Jarryd wishes he could have been there, too. It turns out that Jarryd tore his ACL before last year's Big Ten season got underway. He didn't set foot on the court for the Ohio State game or any other Big Ten game for that matter. He brought no one to their knees or feet.
So someone on the athletic department's marketing staff must have made a mistake, one that we could move on from easily with a simple acknowledgement of the error. But Herky, when the Gazette asked the athletic department's associate director, Rick Klatt, about the incongruity, here's what he said: "It's not a mistake. No. It's an example of how the word 'slam-dunk' could be used in a sentence." (Cedar Rapids Gazette, Sept.15)
Herky, you're killing me. I took my degree in communications from Iowa and here is a fundamental tenet of public communication (of life, really): if you're guilty of fabrication, whether you intended it or it is a simple mistake, admit it, apologize and move on. Don't compound the problem you've created for yourself.
Using Mr. Klatt's logic, there is nothing wrong with me declaring that the Hawkeyes are this football season's national champions. That will ease the pain of this season a little. After all, it's just an example of how the words "national champions" can be used in a sentence, so all will be well.
But don't print those t-shirts yet, Herk. You have to admit that's pretty thin. Most importantly, it damages -- check that: destroys -- your credibility. People will look askew at everything you say. They'll no longer trust your word.
So Herky, let's do the right thing. Let's do exactly what any smart business would do. Let's admit we were wrong in the first place. Let's apologize for the mistake and refocus on our top priority: being competitive on the court.
Best regards,
Rod
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