Poor Saint Patrick

I feel sorry for Saint Patrick. Why, you may ask? Because, here is a guy that is remembered and revered, but for accomplishments that aren’t even his own.  First of all, Saint Patrick may be the Patron Saint of Ireland, but he is not Irish, he was actually born in Britain. He also did not drive all the snakes out of Ireland (as Ireland has never had any snakes). And the whole using a 3 leaf clover to teach the trinity is a legend as well. To top it all off, he has never been officially canonized by the Catholic Church.

The really sad part is that he was actually a pretty heroic guy and most of us don’t even know why. When he was 16 he was captured by Irish raiders and taken into captivity and then he escaped after being held for several years. It was later in his life when he returned to Ireland as a priest. According to author Thomas Cahill, Saint Patrick may have been the first person in recorded history to speak out against slavery. (Saint Patrick was born in the 5th century.) So, in actuality the real Saint Patrick rocks more than the fictitious one!

Can this be said about your business? Are you known for all the wrong reasons? Are you letting others tell your story? Now don’t get me wrong, word of mouth can be a wonderful thing, but it can also be deadly to businesses, especially when it is false information. Just ask Toyota or Taco Bell. Of course, Toyota and Taco Bell will survive, but they each took significant losses in the process.

The best advice I can give to you on this Saint Patrick’s Day is to take some time and see what others are saying about your company, inside and out. It may be painful, but better to find out sooner than later. Just like with an illness, treatments given in the first stages are more successful.

And by the way, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

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