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91. Be straight at all times and speak the truth

"I have found that being honest is the best tech­nique I can use. Right up front, tell people what you're trying to accomplish and what you're will­ing to sacrifice to accomplish it." Lee lacocca, President of Ford and of Chrysler

This Rule follows right on from the previous Rule. Obviously if you think your boss is an idiot you don't go and tell them - that's taking honesty just a shade too far. But don't lie, or cheat, or steal, or abuse, or defraud, or take advantage, or con, or trick, or swindle, or hinder, or worsen.

As a manager you have been given a privileged position - one of trust and honour. You are responsible for human lives - no, really, real human lives. You screw up and people get hurt. When they go home after working for you all day they carry on living and breathing, feeling and loving, hurting and dreaming and hoping. You upset them or offend them or abuse them or lie to them and they take that home and it affects their close family and friends and relatives. You must speak truth to them at all times. If you can't say anything nice, say nothing, but don't lie.

Don't lie to your bosses. They don't employ you to do that. They employ you to be straight and to tell the truth. If you're not going to make your figures, don't fudge the issue - tell them. They can then take measures to help you or take action because your not making your figures might have knock-on effects. They might be let down but they will be grateful for the warning. Better to know, than to hope and be disappointed.

Don't lie to customers. Obviously in all this there is a measure for artistic truth telling. If a customer asks if your products are superior to your competitors you don't have to lie because they are - or you'd be working for the competition, wouldn't you? But if they ask if certain products have been successful and they haven't you are entitled to creative truth telling. Say, 'We have been somewhat surprised by sales so far but there is always room for improvement', rather than, These really bombed but we're hoping you'll take a load off our hands'.

92. Don't cut corners -you'll get found out

"Do you ever compromise on service? Do you cut corners, only partially fulfil, or even forget com­mitments? Exceptional service means keeping every commitment you make to customers. Period." Mark Sanborn, motivational speaker

Maybe you make aeroplanes - are you going to cut corners? Maybe use substandard metal in the wings? Replace the engines with junkyard replacements? I don't think so. You'd get found out pretty quick. Hey, there is an increasing trend of taking managers to court if they have been responsible for injury to anyone using one of their products which has been found to be faulty (by way of design or manufacture or cost cutting). Quite right too. If we are all made to be personally responsible for what we do in our working lives maybe things would get a whole lot better. Rant over.

Maybe you don't make aeroplanes. Maybe you don't make anything. Maybe you just program computers. Nice and safe. Can't hurt anyone there can you? No? Sure? Think things through. Work out worst-case scenarios and be prepared for the fact that whatever we do as managers, we are responsible for someone or something that could get damaged, hurt, wounded, upset, impaired, killed - you name it.

Cutting corners ain't worth it - you'll always get found out. Sod's law. I know you can get caught between the devil and the deep blue sea at times, with your boss telling you to do something and your principles telling you it is madness, but you need the job and the mortgage has to be paid and it's easier to shut up and pretend it's all all right. But it ain't. You'll get found out.

And you have to move heaven and earth to prove to your boss that cutting corners is a real waste of time. The old, 'But what would the media/auditors make of this if they got hold of it?' argument often works wonders. As does asking about what insurance we carry or how the legal department has viewed this cost-cutting exercise. If you get told, 'I haven't bothered running it past them', you can clap your hand to your head and shriek, 'Oh, no, I'm working with a mad person'. Using humour can get someone else to realize they have overstepped the mark and need to think.

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