Quotes - Be careful what you say

I read an article in the paper this morning - I was quoted - My first thought was "did I say that". Sure enough I did but the end result came out different than I meant it. Many of you will probably say "join the club" or "next time don't talk to reporters."

Dana Knight a local business writer sent me an email last week and was looking for ideas for a story she was writing about correlations between TV and real bosses. She mentioned a few to get my mind started. Sam from Cheers, Charlie from Charlie's Angels, Judge Judy, Donald Trump. I started thinking she is missing some good personalities and sent her the following reply.

I’ll have to think about your TV boss question. You may be missing a few good ones. Mr. Peterman and George Steinbrenner (maybe I watch too much Seinfeld). There is always Mr. Burns from the Simpsons. I’m not saying I worked with any of those characters though …..

Her article appeared this morning with this quote
"Roland Bydlon, who works in Carmel, didn't have an answer when asked about his boss, but he did say three memorable TV bosses come to mind: Mr. Peterman from "Seinfeld," George Steinbrenner from the New York Yankees and Mr. Burns.
"I'm not saying I worked with any of those characters, though," he wrote in an e-mail."

Dana quoted me correctly but it just didn't come out right. What I meant to communicate was when you talk to people you may want to add these characters to your list. Now I was quoted for everyone to see. Visions of a current or past business associates calling me up and accusing me of calling him/her a "Mr. Burns" flashed through my mind.

Oh well. In my 20 years in business and as a consultant I have worked with and for a lot of different individuals with very different personalities. Some had traits of a Steinbrenner others had traits of a Mr. Grant on Mary Tyler Moore. What I can say is I have learned something about myself from every person I have worked with and most of the time I have been very glad to have had the experience. I'm not embarrassed about that at all.

Until next time - All the best!

Roland