Honesty is the Best Policy -- Especially When It Comes to De

As a child growing up in Chicago, my friends and I
would often yell at each other, "Cheaters never
prosper!" if we thought someone was playing
unfairly on our Catholic school playground. In the
business world over the years, I've learned that
there's a lot of truth in that statement. Cheaters
don't always succeed in business, and while we're
on the subject, liars are always discovered.

We've seen these lessons played out a lot lately.
The newspapers have been flooded with commentary
about a former New York Times reporter and the
poor conduct he displayed by purposely filing
inaccurate stories. While his actions have cast a
very negative light on the journalism community as
a whole, causing many business owners to wonder if
they've been treated fairly by the media in the
past, it's important to note that unscrupulous
reporters represent just a few "bad apples" in a
very large barrel. Most journalists possess great
integrity. It's their job to search for the truth
so if you're a small-business owner ready to tell
your company story, honesty is still the best
policy - especially when it comes to dealing with
the press.

So why do people lie to the press in the first
place? You'd think that the most obvious answer
would be because they have something to hide. In
actuality many times lies are told inadvertently.
Here are common examples and the ways in which to
avoid these mistakes before it destroys your
reputation: