The verdict is in. Martha Stewart was found guilty on four separate felony counts. No one can deny the catastrophic impact this episode has had on her, both professionally and personally. Her name will always be associated with the headline-grabbing trial. Her coporate empire has taken a beating. The once very proud woman will likely have to endure the indignities associated with a jail sentence.

The sad thing is...it didn't have to be like this. There were several opportunities, well before the trial began, when Martha could have come clean and probably minimized the damage to her corporate and personal reputations. I've heard it argued that when she moved to sell her ImClone stock on the tip, it was not technically illegal on her part (although it surely was on the part of the one who tipped her). I'll let those more versed in SEC regulations and the law decide that.

What she DID do was violate the first of the "Five Big Nevers" that I talk about in my workshops and book. She lied. And once she lied, she didn't want to admit that he had made that mistake, so she lied again, even when speaking with official government agents. One lie piled up on another. She allegedly made up a story about the "sell at $60" to cover up the truth.

Perhaps it was because she was Martha Stewart, the model of perfection, that she could not bring herself to admit she had done anything wrong. Whatever her reasoning, let the results be a lesson to you. If you make a mistake -- do something you know you should not have done through an error in judgment -- the quicker you admit it, the better off you will be. Had Martha said, in the early stages, "I knew that Sam was dumping his stock and I panicked," most people I know would have said to themselves, "I probably would have done the same thing." Even after she had slipped into that first lie to the authorities, if she had quickly admitted, "I don't know WHAT I was thinking; I lied and I'm sorry," the vast majority of the public would have been willing to forgive her. The government might have been satisfied to let her go with a slap on the wrist. Newsweek reported that even as late as a year ago, the federal prosecutors offered her a deal to admit to one felony count of lying in exchange for no jail time.

But adamantly sticking with her story that she had done nothing wrong -- even while her friends were forced to testify to her detriment -- made her look arrogant, like she expected to be able to get away with it. I was reminded of Leona Helmsley's oft-repeated comment before she was taken off to jail, "Only the LITTLE people pay taxes!" Even now, when a little contrition might go a long way before the sentencing, Martha has chosen instead to maintain her innocence and ask her friends to write letters to the judge emphasizing her integrity!

So the first big "never" in business and in media relations is reinforced through Martha's example. NEVER LIE. Whatever the cost of telling the truth, it's nothing compared to the consequences of telling a lie.

'Til next month...KEEP COOL!

Copyright (C) 2004 JCH Enterprises

Click here to view other e-zines by Judy Hoffman.