…until the fat lady sings.

This quote was originally attributed to sportscaster Dan Cook. Cook used the expression in a television broadcast on May 10, 1978, before a Washington Bullets-San Antonio Spurs playoff basketball game and popularized by Bullets’ Coach Dick Motta. Later, first use of the quote was attributed to the late Ralph Carpenter, the former Texas Tech sports information director, commenting when the Aggies rallied for a 72-72 tie late in the SWC tournament finals two years earlier in March 1976.

The saying refers to a Richard Wagner opera suite, Der Ring des Nibelungen and its last part, Götterdämmerung. The "fat lady" is traditionally presented as a very buxom lady with horned helmet, spear and round shield. The aria lasts almost ten minutes and marks the end of the opera.

Obviously, the advertising department at the Philadelphia Inquirer isn’t familiar with the quote or another one by that great American philosopher, Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over till its over.”

The Inquirer ran this ad for Macy’s on Monday congratulating the Phillies on winning back-to-back championships. There was a minor problem; the Phillies trailed the Yankees, having lost three games while winning one (the earliest that the Phillies could win the Series is Game 7 on Thursday).

Dewey Defeats Truman anyone?

Hey, things happen.

We’ve all seen the occasional typo in the newspaper. Most people have at one time or another experienced spell-check gremlins when writing emails. You might use the word there when you meant to use their and spell check doesn’t catch it. However, this was not a “business card size” ad or an email. This was a three-quarter-page ad that appeared on the back page of the Philadelphia Inquirer's front section.

I’m sure the conspiracy theories are circulating. It was a deliberate attempt by some Yankees’ fan to embarrass the Phillies. Whether it was accidental or not is irrelevant. The question should be, were controls and operating procedures in place? This is something that all organizations, both big and small, face when evaluating their operations. Business owners and other management personnel should be asking themselves the following questions:

Do we have adequate controls in place to make sure the chances of business mistakes are minimized (or worse, possible theft of assets)? If not, then what must we do to safeguard our assets?

If procedures do exist, do my employees follow the procedures and guidelines? If they are not following them, do we have a larger HR issue?

If you need assistance with these and other issues contact Ed Baloga, Partner with B2B CFO®.