Friday, September 3, 2010
 

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Lincoln’s Smart Strategy for Dealing with Office Rumors

Everyone has to deal with it at some point: someone in the office or your industry says something about you that isn't true. Maybe it's a quip about your "wild" college fraternity days. Maybe it's something more serious: a lie that could severely damage your career, spread by a competitor or even a junior staffer who lusts after your corner office. Abraham Lincoln faced just this sort of problem in 1836. A lot has changed since then, obviously, but his strategy for dealing with unfair accusations is still relevant today.

Lincoln was 27 years old and running for reelection to his seat in the Illinois state legislature when a political opponent, Colonel Robert Allen, began telling voters that he had dirt on Lincoln, but that out of the goodness of Allen's heart, he'd decided not to tell anyone. It was a particularly devilish way to trash the reputation of the future president. Instead of getting upset, Lincoln responded with class, brevity and, most of all, strength.

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About the Author

David Acord is a writer and author of What Would Lincoln Do? Lincoln's Most Inspired Solutions to Challenging Problems and Difficult Situations (Sourcebooks, 2009). He is currently editor-in-chief of a business publishing company in Washington , D.C. and has been a Lincoln buff for most of his adult life. David lives in Arlington, Virginia. Check out his book.

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