I remember taking over a sales organization, and on my first conference call one individual openly said, “We can just lie to the customer.”
You’ve heard it too.
“It is just a white lie.”
“We can gloss over the truth.”
“We can just stay in the gray areas.”
“Just avoid the topic-don’t tell them.”
The pressure for profit can work against the moral fibers of the best of us.
Here was my response, “On my watch, we will not lie to any customers. We will admit our mistakes and work through the issues that result. That is how we are going to win.”
They were not an immoral person. They just took the path of least resistance. They’d never received an alternative invitation where goodness and honesty, was a viable winning strategy.
It’s easy to succumb to lesser tactics to achieve success. The problem is you have to live with yourself afterward. Deep down people recognize half-truths.
The high-road strategy is to own your mistakes and deal with the fallout.
Stand up. Be the adult in the room. Graciously decline participation in the broken system. Become apart of the solution.
