Friday, 9 December 2016

Let's call a spade a shovel.



The headline said that we are in a ‘post-truth’ era.  Not quite sure what the heck that is.
Then a story appeared on the news that reported on a ‘false news’ posting that appeared on Facebook.

Is it just me or has the whole world gone nuts.  In my Webster’s both ‘post-truth’ and ‘false news’ appear as definitions for the same word…LIES!

I mean, how hard is it to understand?  Frankly it is a binary proposition.  If it is not truth…it is a lie.  There are no fifty shades of gray here.

Have we really devolved so far that we are now sugar coating lies so, like medicine, we can swallow them more easily?  It used to be that only accounts receivable was required to put up with this nonsense.  You remember ‘…the cheque is in the mail…’ or ‘…I didn’t get an invoice…’  Kids told teachers that the dog ate their homework.

As the leader, you know how imperative it is that you conduct yourself with integrity.  If your word cannot be trusted then there are no absolutes.  You are simply presiding over controlled chaos. I strongly doubt that your employees want a new division of HR called ‘Fact Checkers’ to know which of your strategic plans are real and which are intended to waste your time.

Take the high road.  Be honest, be consistent and be accountable.  Don’t accept as a ‘fait accompli’ this notion of post-truth.  Ensure that your team, your division, your company stands for something worth defending. 

I am reminded again of an oft-repeated quote:

‘…Reputation is what others think of you; character is what you are…’


Push back against the trend before it becomes the norm. 

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