Simple Honesty
Definition: To be proactively honest and straightforward. To be unconcerned with PR and spin. To explain something as you see it in simple terms.
Simple Honesty defines one of my favorite concepts in business. It goes beyond pure honesty (not lying) and tackles the PR spin monster lurking behind so many information sources today. It even goes beyond PR and encourages proactive honesty rather than reactive honesty.
People won't often call out a liar, even if he is flat out lying. There is always that shred of doubt that the person is telling the truth. I think this is why people feel so comfortable with PR and spin. They know that people won't be able to completely discredit what they are saying. But people have an amazingly intuitive sense for these things. Although they may not discredit a person or statement flat out, they will feel that something is wrong and they will act on those impressions.
Recently I signed up for E*Trade after much hesitation. I had read quite a bit about how unresponsive they were, but I had also read that they had made changes. My coworkers were using it as well, so I decided to give it a shot.
Well, they have improved. At least from my limited experience, they did seem to put into practice Simple Honesty (although my questions weren't exactly challenging). They admitted when they didn't know something and were quick to get back to me with an answer.
This makes an enormous impression on someone, at least is does on me. It also shows how easy it is to put Simple Honesty into practice. Most of us are not faced with tremendously difficult decisions and all we need to do to make this fantastic impression is be straightforward and pro-actively make the facts transparent.
The article, Technology - Why There's No Escaping the Blog details Mazda's failed attempt to market via blogs.
I guess a guy posed as a legitimate blogger and used the blog as a means of marketing Mazda's brand. People began to comment on the fishy nature of the blog, reacting to their intuition and quickly exposing the blog for what it really was, damaging the Mazda brand name in the process.
In any case I think you get the idea. I am not saying I am the perfect example of Simple Honesty, but in business I always try to practice Simple Honesty. I am always up-front with customers. I'll tell them if I am unsure of something, or if I screwed up. And I'll usually tell them before they even recognize the mistake.
I've had three jobs so far, post-college, and am working on a potential fourth. Well actually I left the first one and them came back, so three jobs with two companies. In any case every time I have left a job I discussed the situation with my employer know well before I have an offer in hand. In fact I just told my employer than I have an interview with another company next week.
This is not out of some heightened sense of ethics. It is out of a pure sense of selfishness. I am trying to do what is best for myself. In all of these situations Simple Honesty, a pro-active baring of the facts, has worked out very well. I don't regret any example of Simple Honesty that I have practiced.
In my experience Simple Honesty has earned me respect, devotion and quite frankly, money. When you treat people with respect, talking to them with Simple Honesty, they recognize it at a guttural level, and they are more willing to do business with you.
I don't want to promote unhindered, uncensored voiced honesty in every situation. Use your gut with it. Sometimes a customer should not know if a mistake was made. Sometimes my girlfriend shouldn't know when I am feeling claustrophobic in the relationship. But sometimes they should know these things, sometimes the increased credibility will far outweigh anything negative that comes from such honest statements. People usually recognize Simple Honesty. It usually pays off.
Rambling away...
