NBC Brian Williams’ saga of altering history, whether innocent or not, is instructive of the need to take great care about what you say and do in today’s world. As the old saying goes, words can weigh 1,000 pounds when it comes to recognizing your important and high profile relationship with the community you serve. While most of us don’t rise to the celebrity of Brian, we still have a mission to fulfill and to torpedo that mission with a misstatement or misdeed either real or perceived can consume years of recovery if ever fully restored at all. Take care now to follow four simple steps that can help you avoid the pitfalls that come with today’s information engorged world.

1. Be Prepared first of all by understanding the micro forces impacting on your industry and the macro forces such as social media that impact on ways we never imagined.

2. Understand your Purpose and mission thoroughly in light of the growing danger inherent in a world where getting knocked off course is more likely than ever.

3. Plan! ls planning obsolete in a world where change is constant, and relentless? Paradoxically, planning is more important than ever with a strong core accompanied with edges that are adaptable to the inevitable change that is upon us.

4. Perspective brings together all the above with the call to ethical leadership, often defined as “doing the right thing.”

The good news is that all four of the P’s consist of skill sets that you can learn to help you navigate the challenging yet exciting times in which we live.

For more information on my thoughts on Reputation Management and the Dodging Coconuts theory, visit www.RichGrossSolutions.com