Saturday, November 29, 2014
4th Session Honesty (initial posting by 1 Dec; followup by 3 Dec)
How important is honesty in business? Isn't it ok to lie (a little? a lot?) to close a deal? Do the standards of lying vs. truth apply the same way in advertising? Explain, using at least one of your readings or videos for Session Four.
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How important is honesty in business? Isn't it okay to lie (a little? a lot?) to close a deal? Do the standards of lying vs. truth apply the same way in advertising? Explain, using at least one of your readings or videos for Session Four.
ReplyDeleteHonest in business is very important. Trust is the foundation for everything else. It is not okay to lie a little or a lot to close a deal; I go back to Adelaide Lancaster, author of Big Enough Company (2011)...it's about owning a mistake when you mess up and admitting when you're wrong; it's also about refusing to pretend that you're something you're not; it requires acknowledging the state of the business to your employees; and, when it comes to customers, it requires selling only what you can deliver effectively and always living up to your word.
The standards of lying vs. truth apply the same in advertising, but that is rarely the case. In business, marketing, advertising, politics...the list goes on and on....statistics are skewed to make a case; advertisers trump their product over the competitors - to kill more germs, to make hair more full and luxurious, etc. Buyer beware as the old saying goes.
People are easily manipulated by the next shiny thing. Even the altruistic companies who say they are giving back to the less privileged have ulterior motives - yes, they are doing the right thing, but is it for the right reason? Is it really about providing shoes to under developed, under privileged children - or is it about brand recognition and profit?
Your last paragraph is quite interesting. I just saw an episode of The John Stewart Show that pointed out all the pink breast cancer awareness products on the market. The funniest one was that Fracking companies were actually painted their drill heads pink, as part of a public image PR stunt.
DeleteI agree with Lorrain....honesty is the core of a successful business. The only way to make a successful business vs a 5 minute business is to build good relationships, the only way to build a good relationship is to have trust. So, with that being said it is not okay to lie, even a little bit because they always lead to larger lies. And, you have to ask yourself if it is worth it to lose respect over something small.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to advertising, why would you lie? I don't understand that. You are trying to attract customers so you want your potential customers to be pleasantly surprised by your product rather than disappointed. In case 8.3 there is an opinion that states that women feel inferior or imperfect because of commercials. Do you? I certainly don't. I think we are all educated enough to know that a certain image is going to be portrayed in any advertisement. It is unrealistic, but not a lie. I don't feel bad about myself because I have wrinkles and the makeup commercial shows someone without them. I don't think it is lying, some women are blessed with good genes, some are touched up, some have the money to take care of wrinkles while others don't. I think the case is written ridiculously and this person sounds very insecure. :)
I agree with Lorain and Maura honesty go hand and hand with integrity. Politicians has lied their way into to office and our economy is still in a bad situation. We as a nation need to elect people in government who has shown in their past to be trustworthy individuals.
ReplyDeleteIn advertising - this is a multi billion industry that focus on making profits off of products. Starting with capitalizing on brand name products because many consumers are loyal to them. So why do the advertisement company have to deceive their audience? More Profits, the name brand cost more to pay actors, graphic designers, etc.
I really admire Sam Walton (founder of Wal-Mart) for selling the name brand products and making quality product just as good for a cheaper price, other retail stores has chimed in on this concept as well (Kroger, Target, Walgreen's). No big gimmicks or advertisement needed and they are making quality products and profits.
Honesty is imperative in business. It is not okay to lie even a little especially when trying to close a deal. It may have been commonplace at one point in time when things were different, but in today's economy any form of misinformation, or misdirection even in some cases accidentally, can be grounds for a lawsuit. Contracts are contracts yes but a verbal conversation, especially when recorded can be just as binding. Everything must be disclosed, otherwise you run the risk of serious ethical, legal, and financial losses. Something that comes to mind that is small is disclosure when selling a home. Banks acquire foreclosed homes in which meth-amphetamines have been produced or (cooked) they sell the house to some unsuspecting family "as is" instead of saying, "hey this house should be cleaned by a professional," or even spending the $175 to have it cleaned in order to clear any of the unbelievably caustic chemicals that are currently in this home that probably killed the former owners. The children (because they spend a great deal of time on the ground and are closer to it) start to get sick, develop rashes, have difficulty breathing, and eventually develop cancer, in a very short span of time. The parents and doctors don't know what's happening, and the parents are starting to get sick too. Why lie and risk the lives of children, when you can offer an alternative solution that could save heartbreak and hassle? What purpose does it serve? This can be said about any toxic dumping company that does so illegally or without regard for the lives of humans or the environment. In the simplest terms, lairs generally get caught, they slip up, divulge too much, and end up trying to get out of a mess.
ReplyDeleteThe 2000 president of South Africa Thabo Mbeki knew HIV led to AIDS yet he chose to issue a false statement that it was not clear that this was the case. He went on to blame the pharmaceutical companies, saying that they were trying to scare people into purchasing more of their product. The man had read the research, had all the information, yet lied to the public about the facts. The reaction was outrage, and the possibility that some of his people died because of his misinformation. If they believed as he did and didn't take the medication as directed it would have been fatal. He chose to follow an unpopular and unsubstantiated opinion over years of research and facts. There is no room for this, and in the end it is not worth it. It's one thing to say, "that dress looks nice on you," when you're really thinking, "what was she thinking?" and a completely different situation, when you tell a client that the product you're selling them is child-safe when you know it is not.
How important is honesty in business?
ReplyDeleteIsn't it ok to lie (a little? a lot?) to close a deal? Do the standards of lying vs. truth apply the same way in advertising?
Honesty in business is beyond important. If you're wanting to build a business that you're proud of and you are committed to building repeat customers who gladly spread the word of your services/products, honesty and integrity need to be the foundation of your business. Relationships are built on honesty. If your customers or the public in general do not trust you, your business will not succeed or grow.
In Cuilla's writing "What is good leadership" she talks about several key points in business. It is entirely up to us as individuals, employees, and business owners if we are consistent in our practices and choose to be honest in our businesses. It is important not to let our morals get in the way/blind us from making decisions that support our morals. In the example of the priests that agree with lesser punishments for pediphiles of Priests in the Catholic Church simply because they are practicing God's work is a complete distortion of moral judgement and behavior. The same applies for lying or deceitful advertisement. Why on earth would you lie in order to sell products or gain customers? The truth will come out sooner or later and the ramifications of such ridiculousness will harm your business, you as a person including your reputation.
Honesty in business is very important and builds the foundation of a company. With honesty you gain loyalty. Loyalty comes in many forms; you have loyal customers, loyal employees, loyal vendors and the list can go on. The example that keeps popping in my head when I read this question is the leaking of customer information that both Target and Home Depot have experienced over the last few months. These two companies could have kept this information to themselves and moved forward with finding a fix and not letting their customer’s know. However, by getting this information out to the public their customers could make the necessary changes to their credit cards. Also in return, banks reached out to their customers (who were Target/Home Depots) and either initiated a new credit card or informed their customers that they have been watching for abnormal activity reassuring that they value them as customers. Honesty can affect a multitude of “customers” if not handled correctly.
ReplyDeleteAdvertising is tricky. I personally believe that advertising should work the same way but we know it doesn’t. Think about Black Friday ads... For example Companies advertise electronics at deep discount prices but have a very limited supply of the items (I experienced this last year, the store only had 5 televisions available at the sale price). I guess this is not lying but it is not telling the truth. However, in the fine print (who reads that) it states while supplies last. I am sure we have all experienced this. The companies get the customers in the door in hopes that they will purchase more stuff when they are in the store. Marketing at its best!
At the end of Brooke Deterline presentation she stated “Courage - It is a choice that we all should make and it matters.” I believe that this goes hand in hand with honesty. It is a choice we have to make!
I also saw this on the youtube video “As Corporate Director for the Heroic Imagination Project (HIP), Brooke helps boards, executives, and teams at all levels develop the skills to act with courage and ingenuity in the face of challenging situations. This fosters leadership credibility and candor, builds trust, engagement and reduces risk”. I think this sums it up nicely!
I have done a significant number of sales trainings in my experience and the number one thing that we tell sales people is that there is no such thing as "no". The reason for that is not that we should tell people what they want to hear but you should uncover the true hot points on why someone is looking for a product or service or better yet in a cold call situation you don't even speak of your products and services until you understand their business. I used to work for a company called Balboa Capital in Southern California and we financed medium to large ticket equipment such as jets, oil tankers, construction machinery, and IT equipment. When I spoke to CFO's and/or controllers of a company those guys had many years more experience than I did as a 24 year old pup but the reason that they liked doing business with me is because my creative thinking and not taking "no" as an answer allowed them to see my energy and persistence. Now did I bend the truth absolutely but I also financed millions of dollars by just saying, "At the end of the day what will make you're life easier and if I present you with an amazing solution will you sign off on this document today?" Now in now way was I lying but I had no idea if I was going to be able to do what I just told him.
ReplyDeleteSo in closing no you shouldn't lie but you also have to find a way to prove your trustworthy and sometimes that's by not taking "no" for an answer and figuring out the solution.
In business lying about facts that will hurt your clients in any facet should not be tolerated. That being said there is always lying in business to attract and sell to clients. The small lie of letting them beat you in golf despite the fact that you are better is a form of a lie. Saying that you enjoyed a meal or that you are interested in things that a client likes are all lies. It is a part of business that a salesman will have to change themselves to better suit their clients. Just as Nathan was saying you cannot take “no” for an answer so you have to find ways to identify with them and this will usually require some lies about who you are. This is the side of business that Greenleaf really did not like. The natural two faced side of business that was running even more ramped in his time due to all of the face to face sales and deception.
ReplyDeleteHow important is honesty in business? Isn't it ok to lie (a little? a lot?) to close a deal? Do the standards of lying vs. truth apply the same way in advertising? Explain, using at least one of your readings or videos for Session Four.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I do believe that honesty in business is extremely important. I reckon it all depends on your own personal definition of the truth versus a lie. In reading the comments above, I have to say that I most closely agree with Nate. Imagine that???
Business, advertising, etc. are extremely complicated relationships. It is a constant ongoing negotiation. I feel that each person has to decide for themselves what is honest, and what is dishonest. As Nate points out, you may not always know that you are lying. Are you dishonest if you agree to a deadline that you may not be able to meet in order to land a project? (A project that pays the bills, puts food in your employees refrigerators, provides health care for their children, etc...) Do customers want to be lied to in order to feel a false sense of something. Maura points out make up, wrinkles, and image. Here is one of my favorite examples...... Is a woman with a padded bra guilty of lying and false advertisement? It sounds like the old bait and switch to me. It is a conscious deception of actual appearance.
My experience in running a small business is that there are always three sides to any story. His, hers, and the truth. It is just the way it is. It is not always meant to be deceptive. We had an ongoing joke regarding customers. We usually believed that if a customer was talking they were lying. Always looking for a little something else for free. I was not mad at them. I just knew this was how it was. Business is a constant negotiation, and you have to be prepared to play the game. Amicable agreements can be made, but you better do your homework. The person with the most knowledge usually comes out on top.
All this being said, I do believe it is wrong to outright lie and deceive others. People and companies do all sorts of nasty things that harm and kill people. Beech-Nut's apple juice incident was flat out immoral. There should have been jail time for that sort of lying. The video was kind of lame, but I agree Brooke Deterline from the TedX video. It is very important to have courage and to stand up for what you think is correct in challenging situations. So are certain lies ok? Yes! We all do it. You are lying if you say you don't. You just better make sure you can live with yourself at the end of the day.
I recently watched a movie called arbitrage and it had to do with being honest in the workplace. The CEO was withholding stock funds to boast up the value of his company. So that he could sell the company to a potential buyer at a higher amount. But the CEO got caught up in his twisted set of lies and it hurt him dearly in the end. Lies lead to more lies to cover the original lie. Its better to be transparent in business and not hide potentially harming information in the skeleton closet to be discovered.
ReplyDeleteI realized the other day that I do lie at work sometimes. Not about the important things but about the things I feel inside. Instead of saying what I really feel I hold it in and say something polite. I have to deal with a person who basically cannot do her job on her own and has to constantly ask the same clarifying questions to 4 different people and I have to lie to her that she isn't bothering me. The truth is she drives me crazy but if I said what I really felt then I would get fired. Same with my family, sometimes I don't want to do whatever they need but I say no big deal and do it even though I won't be able to sleep that night in order to finish everything. So I guess Honest is great except when it's not and causes insomnia.
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