The Mic is Always On: The Importance of Keeping Your Mouth Shut

Yesterday I read an entertaining article on Slate.com by journalist Amy Webb, who happens to take Amtrak’s Acela train to travel to and from Washington, D.C. On the train, she explained, she often overhears conversations that she’s pretty certain the speakers wouldn’t want a journalist to overhear. By simply looking at the name on the ticket (displayed for all to see walking through the aisle), Webb can put the conversations in context. For example, she talks in the piece about sitting next to a group of four executives from a large national bank (a quick Google search returned their titles, employer and even information on where they went to school, as well as one’s college football career). Though she doesn’t name the bank, she goes onto explain how the global head of human resources said he’d wished women could be fired for getting pregnant.
The statement is pretty egregious, and Webb was kind enough to not name the men (and probably ruin the career of at least the HR exec), but the situation she describes is not all that uncommon. As a journalist myself, there have been numerous times I’ve sat next to executives at conferences or other events and overheard things I know they wouldn’t want to see in print. Working at a trade publication that is supportive of the industry, I rarely do anything with this information, but what if the person sitting next to you wasn’t so hospital-friendly?
Being careful not to be overheard saying disparaging remarks should be obvious, but being overheard speaking about your organization’s strategy or other trade secrets is just and important. And, if my experiences on public transit in Chicago is any indication, many companies are in trouble. Note to readers: Don’t read “confidential” reports on the subway when a very bored editor with a long neck is sitting behind you.