Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/655792
March/April 2016 35 excuse. I am the quarterback of this team and ultimately no one does any- thing with the footballs without me knowing. I asked the guys to remove a bit of air from the footballs and if some- how that got the footballs below the PSI limit, I truly apologize. I feel horrible for the equipment guys because they were doing what I asked. And again, I want to really apologize to my teammates and coaches as they should be answering questions related to playing in the Super Bowl, not questions related to football air pressure." STEP 4 WHAT I'M GOING TO DO ABOUT IT "Bottom line, a rule is a rule and I am the leader of this team. Even if I didn't know the rule, it is still my responsibility to ensure that the rule is followed. I'm assuming that the NFL is going to con- duct an investigation and I want every- one to know that I will fully participate." STEP 5 TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY "And if the NFL decides that I did something wrong and deserve punish- ment, I will abide by their decision. I sin- cerely hope this does not interfere with the excitement my team and our fans have about playing in the Super Bowl, and I will do everything in my power to make sure whatever the NFL wishes to do is done quickly so we all can get on with more important items related to the upcoming game." If the above scenario would have occurred, how long would the story have remained in the public conscience? And how serious a punishment would the NFL really have implemented? There is zero chance they would have done anything to impact the Super Bowl, for example suspend their marquis player. There probably would have been a fi ne, a stern warning, and the story would have been a non-story within a week, and Brady would have been celebrated for being so forthcoming and for being a true leader and accepting responsibility. Of course the above hypothetical sce- nario assumes that what I wrote in Step Visit vulcanequipment.com/powerfry DONE TO PERFECTION. © 2016 Vulcan INCREASE YOUR FRIES PER HOUR. The PowerFry™ VK Series fryer delivers more fried food in less time. Plus dramatic energy savings. Take it for a test fry and see for yourself. 2 is accurate—that Brady did not know- ingly cheat. However, my hunch tells me he did not, as he would have way too much to lose and very little to gain. What I do believe happened is that Brady, the Patriots, and the entire NFL woefully underestimated the power of social media and the viral nature of this story. Whether it was ego or ignorance, I believe all parties thought the story would quickly go away. When the story did not go away, there seemed to be backtracking, the non-denial denial, and cover-ups galore. And as mentioned ear- lier, the cover-up is nearly always worse than the original crime. And so "Defl ate Gate" went from a "who cares" sort of story to front-page news. You don't have to be someone famous to have a personal brand and an online reputation. In a world where almost everyone is "Google-able," it is impera- tive that when you respond to honest criticism or a critical comment in a digi- tal format that you remember that any- thing you say can be shared, archived, and made searchable—forever. Don't let what you say take on a life of its own. Be truthful, take responsibility, and you can control the message. Be less forth- coming and people can and will invent their own story, and then you are play- ing catch-up and are in damage-control mode. If the non-controlled message goes viral, there's little or sometimes nothing you can do to reign it back in. Follow the fi ve-step process outlined above and you'll hopefully put issues to rest quickly, and privately. There are things you can do to control your digital brand and reputation no matter how stressful the situation, now that you Know More! About the Author Sam Richter is the author of the best- selling book Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling, considered the preeminent publication on fi nding information online and using it for sales success. It was named "Sales Book of the Year" by the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals, and also named a "USA Book News Winner" and a "Sales Book Awards Silver Medalist."