HOW TO BURN BRIDGES (Part1)

When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon he purportedly said, "alea iacta est” or the die is cast. At that point in time there was no turning back.

      There are times in business that it is a good idea to burn your bridges. It could be that a relationship is toxic or your gut may be telling you to do so. 

There are other times that bridges may be burned unintentionally. This may turn out badly. The aggrieved person is likely to share the experience. Remember: bad news travels faster than good news that usually seems to take the scenic route.

This has been an interesting week. 

Six months ago I was approached by the organizer of a large conference who was interested in engaging me to be the key note speaker. After a few discussions I agreed to do so and blocked off the date in my calendar. As the date approached (less than a week from the event) I had not been contacted again to deal with the logistics of the day so I left a message with the organizer. While I was awaiting the return call I reviewed the website for the conference and was surprised to see that I was not listed as a speaker.

I have spoken at a very large number of events and some had been cancelled or rescheduled. Things happen. But it was rare for this not to have been communicated to me. This was the failure. If you decide we are not the right fit, have the consideration to let me know. Like I said, things happen and it’s not a big deal to me. It is the lack of consideration that I will remember. This reflects poorly on those that do operate like this.

I did receive a phone call and an e-mail from the organizer apologizing and the apology was accepted for whatever that’s worth.