I was taking a little break this morning when
I came across an item in small print on page
15 in the newspaper I was reading. It was just
one paragraph stating that former Durham,
N.C. prosecutor Mike Nifong filed for bankruptcy.
He's the guy who ran the...and I hesitate to use
the word, investigation; of the Duke lacrosse
players a while back. He ruined the lives of three
young men for certain, and damaged countless
others, all in pursuit of re-election to his office.
He was bankrupt long before the recent filing.
He wasn't alone. Over 80 Duke professors took
out a full page ad in the newspaper convicting
the young men without any kind of trial or hearing.
Almost every media outlet followed the herd,
including the sacrosanct NY Times, which ran
what would now be called laughable stories, that
included heavy speculation, and no evidence
whatsoever.
The three young men's lawyers waged an incredible
battle that they improbably won. One of those
attorneys paid with his life, so Mike can add that to
his sins too.
The case fell apart piece by piece, and the Chief
Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court exonerated
the young men, and removed Mike from his position.
All those voting for conviction without trial suddenly
vanished, and the story disappeared.
No one has heard a peep from the eighty professors
who were so quick to rush to judgement. We will
probably never hear from them again, unless someone
proposes ending tenure.
The lesson here is that it is never good to rush to
judgement. Even when it looks like it's a slam dunk.
A little patience is required.
Many years ago I had to deal with a sexual harrassment
case. A woman came in and tearfully told me a story
about what one of my employees had done.
The employee was a good worker but barely spoke
English. He denied the allegation. I fired him.
The next day the woman came in and tearfully told
me a completey different story, accusing someone
else. Her rational was that the individual she accused
first was only a Mexican, but her accusation had left
her unable to sleep, and now she wanted to come clean.
After interviewing the second person accused, it
became clear that the woman was delusional, and I
couldn't believe anything she told me.
I rehired the Mexican, and fired her.
Never again did I make a quick decision on who was
right and who was wrong.
After that, getting the story straight was always my
first priority. And believe me, that has paid huge
dividends over the years.
From the big saddle,
Jim Whelan
P.S. Word comes today that there is a plan to
salvage the Academy Awards, even if the Writers
Strike continues. This is good news for me, as I
have some big plans for this years ceremony.
What about your plans? What are you going to
do to take your business to the top? Call me
for a consultation now. 206 407 3124
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