Not so much because you come across such horror as to send you into a spiral of despair (although that happens too), but from having to front up to the most ridiculous mistakes. Regularly.
Here's a tip for those who have yet to suffer this pitfall:
When you're floating an idea with the flack for a chat with the top guy, be prepared to talk to the guy straight immediately.
I had the pleasure of having a half-decent idea ruminating in my skull for a couple of days - put in the call to the company's minder (not a bad sort) with some vague topic for an interview, and got a call back 30 minutes later sayng I had the head honcho on the phone.
Needless to say, I wasn't prepared and had to put it off.
Fortune smiled on me in this circumstance (it hasn't in the past, but I'll go into those when I try addressing them... my face still burns when I think of one of them), and I got my ten minutes with the guy and should be able to spin a half-decent yarn out of it. I'll tell you about it later...
But god, the flack had a point when he said he'd never expect a hack to turn down an interview with the CEO of one of the country's biggest players.
What was the lesson you ask?
Well sniffing the Smellie breeze, if you can't be prepared, just put your best foot forward and wing it.... I'm not sure if my man under the hill would agree, but I never seem to be short of red faces at the moment..... I'll tell you about them soon.....
PB.
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