Ahhh...vacation. Completely unplugged and plugged in with my extended family. I now remember why I live 3,000 miles away.

Have you ever been frustrated by senior executive or members of an organization that just don't seem to get their act together? They may be running a multi-million dollar company or the local non-profit, but failure to consider the ramifications of their actions is unexcusable in today's world.

Take for example the firing of Willie Randolph by the New York Mets. The firing was considered a inevitable -- the Mets were underperforming, star players were not meeting expectations and that situation all points to a management shake up. Simple, right?

Not for the Mets. They flew the lame-duck staff across the country, sent a news release out at 3 am to avoid the news appearing in print publications, then remained mute until a press conference more than 12 hours later. The tone of the press conference was not about how this change was going to help the team improve, but rather about how the media had forced the team's front office to make the change. What?

Fans are not limited to their geography -- the online world has changed that for most sports fans -- we enjoyed the NHK play-offs and Stanley Cup finals largely online with friends from Detroit to Miami and Ventura in a virtual fan club to cheer the Red Wings to victory -- all without cable or network TV broadcasts. Deciding that your audience doesn't care -- or that the organization can dictate what the audience will care about -- is the biggest mistake that companies, organization and sports teams are making today.

This is an age of engagement, giving your audience something to care about, making them connect -- will make you successful. But when you make them connect, don't try to ignore the ramifications of your actions. As my mother always said, "Actions speak louder that words!"