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Cutting the cheap number even though it sounded good

A draft site claimed the principals had 100-plus years of combined experience. I struck it before launch.

A draft of the new Common Ground website credited the four principals with 100-plus years of combined experience. Its headline also said we were the only ones able to cover all three of the firm's lanes together.

I cut the combined-years line completely. Before any headline number about our collective experience could appear, I ordered a real composition sheet built from actual deal records. The 'only ones in all three lanes' line went too, as unrealistic. I also pulled the vendor credit lines from the footer so no single vendor would hold sole public credit for shared work.

As I told the team, the 100-plus-years line was a cheap shortcut to saying we had done a lot. It sounded strong but could not be checked, unlike my own individually documented figures. I held the site to the rule the firm says it lives by. A number ships only if it traces to something real, and a revenue figure attached to a client company needs the sign-off of that company's head before it goes public.

The claim was gone before launch and the composition sheet was assigned. Proof tiles about outside companies, including one client's revenue figure, waited until the people they belonged to confirmed them directly.

A number that works only as a vibe, and cannot survive a question about its source, has no place on the site. Letting this exaggeration ride would have been easy and seemed harmless. The skill was in catching it first, before someone else did.

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