On a casual Saturday a few weeks ago, on a cigarette break, a simple baggage handler in Glasgow behaved in a way that has made him an international hero."? You may have read about it in the Wall Street Journal where featured on the front page was a man most likely never to be famous, and today he is the hero of his country."?

John Smeaton was enjoying a smoke break in front of the Glasgow Airport when a jeep burst into flames nearby."? He saw the passenger hitting the officer and took the opportunity to assist the officer and kick the assailant.

"?He instantly became a local then global hero."? In minutes he was hailed as a folk hero and the single voice of Glasgow's "fighting spirit" ' His message to terrorists: "You come to Glasgow and we don't stand for it"We'll just set aboot ye", or in other words, "will kick your butt."

Within hours, an admirer somewhere in the universe created a website devoted to Mr. Smeaton ' including links to Smeaton's media interviews. He posted details from his past and printed Smeaton's modest plea for Britons to buy him a "pint". "?

"?It didn't stop there".The site that tributes his bravery in just a few days topped views of over one million, where fans contributed more than $9,000 ' enough to buy Mr. Smeaton over 1,200 beers.'"?

What did this teach us?

The point here is that our behavior is no longer limited or private."? In the case of Mr. Smeaton, his kick to an assailant was profiled in a global spotlight.' What does that mean to you?"? Unfortunately a lot"

"?A recent article in the New York Times written by Thomas L. Friedman addressed his own dilemma when catching a plane in Boston's Logan Airport"?three years ago when buying a magazine for the flight."? A woman became irate when she thought he cut in front of her in the check out line, threatening him with the statement, "I know who you are"."? The whole article addresses the fact that if it happened today, he would have had a very different reaction from the one he had then.
According to Friedman, today's response would have been one of complete contrition, sweetness and over indulgent groveling."?

Why?"? Because there is a chance he and his behavior was being caught on camera for the whole world to see."? MySpace, YouTube, blogs and cell phone cameras have changed our world, giving everyone the ability to be a "publisher"."? The article goes on to say that we are now all "public figures" and subject to global scrutiny."?

His article cites a new book written by Dov Seidman, CEO of LRN, a business ethics company, who says our world is now transparent."? "?In his book "HOW" he writes about how you live your life and conduct yourself matters more than ever."?

What does this mean to you and your business? 'How you handle yourself can help or hurt you both personally and professionally.

"?For our children, it means their reputation gets recorded and "preserved forever". Unlike their parents, mistakes and discrepancies were less apt to be validated by electronic surveillance or recorded."? The consequences of their behavior has the capacity to be recorded and available forever. Good or bad, like a resume, it will follow them for life.'"?

For"?business this means, that your behavior, attitude, ethics, etc are very visible. .."? That's good and bad news."? The article goes on to say that in the caveat of global scrutiny is the opportunity to "out behave" our competition."? The book gives examples of different scenarios of how a shift in thinking to handle challenging situations has helped companies improve customer satisfaction, reduce lawsuits and begin building customer trust and loyalty.

"?Seidman writes: "We do not live in glass houses (houses that have walls); we live on glass microscope slides""'.visible and exposed to all"."? Whatever you are selling, it's time to brush up on what Friedman says is your "how" factor""'how you build trust, how you collaborate, how you lead, how you say you are sorry"."?"?

"?My good friend the late James Newton and I had lunch in his 95^th year, just a few years after his book, "Uncommon Friends" was published."? A man of high integrity, one of my favorite quotes from Jim was this: "What is right is more important that who is right."' When you think about it, he was right on. How and what you do will be known by so many more than ever before."? Are you ready?