Lies, Lies, and the Truth
You tell me the truth and I will tell the lies
Years ago, I was lied to by personnel in a company I was working for. I was responsible for all the communications of the company as well as, most importantly, being the company spokesperson.What the lie was about is inconsequential, but, the fact that the lie led to much embarrassment for the company (and myself!) is what mattered.
I learned then a saying that I have used many times in preparing marketing and communications strategies and tactics.
“Tell me the truth and I will determine how to present it in the best possible light”.
In today’s world, and most recently in the political arena, lies are told everyday, and many times, those lies are discovered and then those people and/or companies are eviscerated for lying to the public.
I do believe in ethics and morality (I have mentioned this before), and therefore, I will never lie.
You don’t have to tell the “whole” truth, just a portion of the truth if the “whole” truth damages you or your company. Politicians are extremely adept at this. But, there is always the opportunity for the whole truth to be discovered, so, be prepared.
In technology, this is easier to do, because the engineering and development of the product is so complicated, most people don’t understand it and “have” to accept what you are saying is the “whole” truth.
But, back to my opening paragraph; because I was lied to by the CTO on what the products features and benefits were, I informed the world that this was the “whole” truth. Sadly, the information was easy to determine that it was not the truth, that it was an exaggeration, which in turn turned into an embarrassment for the company.
You MUST impart the importance of being lied to as detrimental to your company’s success. Keep saying to your business associates that they must tell you the whole truth and it is your job to spin the damaging or “weak” parts into strengths (which could be you not saying anything at all or putting a “spin” on it to make it strong).
For this to occur, you must gain their trust – that you DO know what you are doing and that you will not damage their reputation or the companies.
This is easily done by saying “Trust me”, and then telling them, after they tell you the truth, how you would “spin” that information so it isn’t embarrassing.
It’s up to you.
One last thing – look at all the spokespeople for Presidents; these spokespeople, in defense of their reputation, ask that they are NOT part of some discussions, so that, when speaking with the press, they are not lying, but telling the truth “as they know it”. Yes, there is the opportunity for them to be labeled “dupes”, but, personally, I would rather be labeled as someone not fully informed compared with someone who will lie to protect their company or boss.
Again, it’s truly up to you and how you want to be remembered.