No one should take any joy in seeing the undoing of a man’s life by the bad judgment of telling what seems to be little lies. Most people, even good people, lie at least occasionally. Sometimes, as in Brian Williams case, it is a seemingly harmless embellishment or exaggeration of a story (“I caught a fish THIS BIG”). Sometimes it’s a lie to get ourselves out of a jam, make ourselves look better or to thwart criticism or punishment (“Didn’t you get my e-mail?” “Traffic was horrendous”). Sometimes its to avoid an uncomfortable truth or even to preserve the feelings of another (“Sorry I missed your party, my mom got sick and was visiting her in the hospital.” “Grandma, this sweater you knitted for me is fabulous.”). And sometimes we tell outright falsehoods to get something we want or avoid things we don’t want (“I was in charge of 50 people at my last job” “I have no idea who spilled coffee on the computer.”). While motive matters somewhat, generally any lie we tell, undermines trust and raises suspicion as to the past and the future (“What else have you lied to me about?”).
When credibility is important, and it always is, there are no little lies.
See 12 Truths About Lying https://whatwillmatter.com/2015/02/12-truths-lying/