Business Blooper of the Week - Verizon

I really wanted to start off with something less covered by the mainstream press. But good God this was so stupid. Spent time disconnected on vacation or under a rock for some reason? Here's the ten second version of this week's BB.

Verizon decided that text messages from NARAL, an opt-in from the cellphone users, were controversial or unsavory. They did a complete turnaround and said the decision had been based on old rules before texting became so prevalent. Unnamed senior executives reversed the decision made by an unnamed employee.

Oh, puh-leeze! Small business owners wouldn't be that shameless. They know who is responsible for every single thing that happens in their companies: Look in the mirror. The really good ones don't even have to do that.

Here's a list of the unsavory messages sent out by Verizon.

• We have the right to censor based on our political beliefs but we will take your money.
• We do not update our old policies unless we have to although we will brag about being on the cutting edge of communication.
• We do not have to pinpoint how this happened or who was involved.
• Our CEO does not need to take full responsibility - anonymous executives will.

There's nothing more difficult than coming forward and accepting the consequences of mistakes. Ask Topps Meat or Mattel. (Which one did the better job? My opinion - the one that had to go out of business. Mattel didn't do much better than Verizon. Once again smaller businesses don't have the luxury of hiding.)

Look inside your own company. Need a mirror?

OPM - Other People's Mistakes

There isn't anything worse than having people tell you what to do or how to do it when they haven't actually done it themselves.

Anyone with a business has a multitude of "advisers". These people may include your employees, your uncle who lent some money, competitors and the guy at the next bar stool. Brilliance and insight on your business is so much easier when you don't have to stay awake at night wondering how to make payroll or what it will take to keep a key employee or whether the big sale ready to close is the elephant you really don't want to sleep with.

OPM is usually associated with other people's money. And that might be true if you have failed to learn from the other OPM - Other People's Mistakes. There can't be a mistake that someone else hasn't already made and suffered from and learned from. Any place that offered business owners and their companies the opportunity to learn from OPM would be overrun. Wouldn't it?

Next on Business Channel: Business Blooper of the Week