It usually happens when deadlines are looming and there's so much going on you can't cope with one more thing. A nasty message from a customer or a colleague sends you over the edge, and your immediate desire is to tell them exactly where they can stick their grievance. But before letting your emotions rule, consider the case of Candy Tistadt, wife of the COO of Virginia's Fairfax County school district.

Dave Kori, a senior at Lake Braddock Secondary School, called the couple's home to ask why the district had not declared a snow day when three inches were predicted in their suburban Washington D.C. town. Tistadt responded with a minute-long tirade that included choice lines like: "[My husband] is out almost every single night of the week at meetings for snotty-nosed little brats, and he may not have called you, but it is not because he's home because it snowed. Get over it, kid, and go to school."

Kori might have deserved an angry response. Though few people will notice that they haven't heard the message he left on the Tistadt's answering machine—meanwhile, Candy Tistadt's scathing words zip around the Internet, attracting the attention of media heavyweights like the Washington Post and CNN. What most people will remember is that a grown-up lost her cool.

Your Marketing Inspiration: Don't forget that social media can be a two-edged sword. So go ahead and lose your temper, but calm down before you pick up the phone or hit reply. If you don't, you might have a starring role in the viral video of your nightmares.

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