Century XXI Business Relationship Rules III

A couple of days ago, the Darleen Drynun story caught my eye. Today, a few of the implications of that story for a new business rule-set.

Seems to me that, at bottom, one key element of any scandal is the assumption that the perpetrator will be able to maintain secrecy.

Here's a simple formula for a scandal:

Successful individual
+ commits financial and/or sexual misdeeds
+ hides misdeeds from general public (NB - confidants aware)
+ continues to succeed in other endeavors
+ believes success provides protection (a.k.a., "bulletproof" or "meglomaniacal" phase)
+ MISDEEDS REVEALED (enters "denial" or "damage control" phase)
+ believes success precludes consequences (a.k.a., "defining moment" or "blow over" phase)
+ continues cover-up
+ continuous revelations
+ belated (contrite) admission of (partial/semi-) guilt
= scandal

According to this forumula, Drynun must have believed she could make the transition from "Pentagon buyer" to "Boeing seller" with no revelation of the juice that helped her arc that gap; her previous success would provide cover. Wrong.

And, somewhere in his mind, Bernie Kerik thought he could continue to maintain the cover up the nanny's status and the affairs. His extreme "Rudy-juice" would make him untouchable, as it had in the past; old rule set thinking. Wrong.

Former Federated CEO Jim Zimmerman acted as if he had no doubt that the (price-fixing) conversations he had with Wedgewood, Waterford and Lenox about not selling to Bed, Bath and Beyond would stay "between friends." Wrong.

And, of course, Dan Rather believed he could simply proclaim a document's authenticity (no matter how transparently bogus) and have that proclamation taken as a given. No.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

So, what's the Century XXI Business Relationship Rule to be gained from these examples?

Here's a shot at it:

If you catch the attention of The Millions (a.k.a., the Blogosphere) who continuously watch for the misdeeds of successful people, your past successes will not protect you if you have committed a serious misdeed. Juice will no longer save you. In fact, if your behavior is at all suspect, juice makes you even more of a target.

Famous people. Do not count on the old rules to protect you. The Kennedy Rules are null and void.

Consider yourselves warned.

Update: what Dave calls "distributed history" or "recursive journalism" is the engine of this new rule.