Wearing a virtual wire

I've reached the point where I am getting really tired of hearing people tell me about News Directors who have suffered "selective memory"... you know, that convenient malady which kills those brain cells containing a promise regarding your career.

Over the years I've often wished I had a courtroom stenographer who followed me around so I'd have a record of what exactly what was said... and what was promised... only to be conveniently "forgotten" when the time came to collect.

When I got into management I learned the importance of documentation. Anytime I had any sort of conference with an employee, I had to write down the date, time, and the parameters of what was said. It might look like this:

"Met with Joe Reporter on May 1st at 10 am. We discussed the fact that he never uses a tripod and I impressed upon him that he must use it whenever possible in the future."

The reason for this? If it ever came time to fire someone, documentation could back up your decision.

Now, it's time for you guys on the other side of the fence to start doing this.

Since you can't walk around wearing a wire and tape recording everything that was said, you must get into the practice of documentation. Anytime a manager has a personal conference with you, write it down. Anytime a co-worker says or does anything offensive, write it down. In fact, anytime anything happens that could come back to bite you in the future, write it down. For those who work for News Directors who are cylons, it might look like this:

"ND called me into his office on May 1 at 11am and called me an idiot."

But along with the bad stuff, you have to document everything that can affect your career:

"ND and I discussed plans for me to take over anchoring in June, 2010. Said he would give me a five thousand dollar raise if I would sign a one year extension to my contract. I would also have a top 20 out."

Then when that day comes and the ND conveniently "forgets" you can simply pull out your documentation and say, "This is what you told me at this date and at this time."

You might also get into the habit of taking a notepad with you anytime you meet with a manager to "take notes"... just let them think you're being thorough.

And remember to write everything down while it is still fresh in your mind. Waiting a day or two clouds the memory.

As for those of you who get job offers over the phone and find they mysteriously change when you get there, you should know that some states allow you to tape record phone conversations. (Often known as "one party states.") But you must check the laws of your state before you can do that.

You guys already take notes on a daily basis for your stories... now it's time to take them to protect yourself.

For those of you who are new to the business, I hope this doesn't scare you too much. But the reality is that there are a lot of people out there who simply cannot be trusted.