Lucky is Not Good

For many years I served in the capacity of media or organizational spokesman. That was my function though I worked under the title of "press secretary." How well I did at that job I will leave to others to determine. One of the benefits of working in that capacity is it provided me with numerous opportunities to learn important lessons about both communication and life. One example of this involved a story the press - local and national - had gotten wind of regarding one of our employees. This gentleman, who's name I will not disclose though it has been reported in the press, was charged with professional misconduct. The charges were serious to the point he was at-risk of losing his job. 

As press secretary, I was brought in to handle any media inquiries regarding this person and his alleged actions. This was fine except I myself was not given access to all pertinent information regarding the case. Nevertheless, I was instructed to deal with all media calls. This is what I did even though I was not totally comfortable talking about it because I knew the gravity of the case and that I was not as well informed or knowledgeable about it as I needed to be. Reporters called with their questions and I addressed them as best I could. Looking back, several of the more experienced ones sensed my unease and did not press me as hard as they could have. 

I was lucky. And, by extension, so, too, was my client. Had reporters been more aggressive in their questioning, all of us could been more vulnerable to public scrutiny and criticism. More than how I handled reporters, I attribute the fact they weren't much more to good fortunate than to my actions. Thus, the lesson I learned is that if one is to be successful, then they need to be good. Being lucky is nice but that is nothing one should ever count on. However, being good, which involves solid preparation and hard work, does give one a sense of readiness and control over their circumstance. Lucky is certainly nice but good is light years better.