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Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Everybody Does It 

One of the common excuses heard from felons is "everybody does it."  That is why this defense of a CEO who lied on his resume rings hollow.  He may be a competent executive, and he might be doing the right things for Yahoo but fabrication of academic credentials is indefensible.  A PR practitioner would be unwise to go to bat for the CEO in the matter.  Rather, any expression should be apology and a promise never to do it again.  That is, if the CEO survives the media drubbing he is getting.   The "everybody-does-it defense" is lousy for a number of reasons.  First of all, everybody doesn't do it.  Secondly, it is a feeble excuse for misbehavior.  Third, it attempts to incriminate everyone else with a negative spin of "we're all in this together."  It is unlikely that a PR practitioner will be called upon to use "everybody does it," but if a client should ask, the answer is no.

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