The blogosphere exploded when Jayson Blair, former NYT reporter who was found guilty of fabricating scenes and comments for his stories, was invited by Washington and Lee University to deliver a lecture on journalism at a conference.

What’s next, one of them asked, invite the ex-head of Lehman Brothers to speak on financial risk management? “Cheap” and “irony” were the most used words.

At Prez Obama’s party for the visiting PM of India, a brazen couple gate-crashed and shook hands with the Prez. Now they want to sell the caper for cash.

These stories have lessons for students setting out on a career. It’s possible we’ll make bad choices in the workplace. When the consequences push us down, how do we take it? Should we be happy with the publicity it brings? Should we proudly cash in on our moral failure?

And we need to know: Should Universities invite people like Blair to lecture? Answer: Only if he’s abandoned short cuts, switched course and won by travelling the straight and narrow road of integrity. Then he is a winner worth listening to.

Like Jack Welch. Thomas Alva Edison. Think of others.

Students must have sensible conversations about failure. It stares us in the face when we step out, thanks to job losses and foreclosures. Who copes better?

When you fail, quickly make an assessment of “what went wrong” and file it away for future reference. Talk to positive people so you don’t lose your confidence in finding achievement. Find ways to improve performance. There are people who lost businesses once, twice, three times and bounced back to become successes.

Above all, talk to sportsmen in the college. They see “falling short” daily. They lose games, but never lose hope. They are the best losers you can find.

BTW, Blair didn’t “fail”. He simply cheated. Like the couple.