Yeah, this is me wearing a Josh Grobin t-shirt. I’m not a fan, but I lost out on a bet with a client. I was going to use this photo to mock myself, but figured that there is a PR lesson in this. You see, I competed with a client in a triathlon six weeks ago and we decided to make it fun and the loser would have to wear the shirt. The fact of the matter is I made a bet I knew I had no business making and wasn’t ready for.


The PR lesson on this is simple: Unless you are 100 percent sure you can deliver on something, wait until you are ready.


Sounds simple, but the truth is, this happens and the repercussions can be devastating. Take Qtrax for example, who jumped the gun on their launch. They announced a new digital music service claiming more than 25 million free legal song downloads. Their problem was that the contracts with the music labels weren’t signed, and when the labels were asked about the announcement, they claimed they were only in talks with Qtrax.


In National Treasure 2, Jon Voight’s character says, after his son says maybe they can stop a man from exposing their grandfather as an American conspirator, that it is too late, it’s on the Internet.
Qtrax is living that nightmare because the proof of their botched launch will live on the Internet forever or at least until the Mayan calendar ends — and so will this picture.