[Vnbiz] Leadership -- A little more on Honesty

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear CACC,

There is this important point that I need to add on Honesty.  Of course,
dishonesty annoys me; but that is personal preference.  That is not the
point.

As far as a leader is concerned, honesty is the MOST important ingredient to
build the SOLIDITY of your organization.  Honesty is the cement of your
building.

Say, you have 12 close lieutenants who are in your inner-most circle. These
lieutenants see that you cheat on taxes (i.e., lying to your government),
you lie (including white lies) to your customers, you lie outright to your
competitors, what do they think about you?  Probably not much, "just normal
business" you would think.  And you're probably right.

But more often than not, when there is something tense in the air, some
little disagreement between you and one of the lieutenants, something a bit
out of ordinary, and you say something, then most of your lieutenants would
think: "I wonder if he is telling us the truth?"  And that kind of
thinking trickles down to the entire organization through the management
echelon.

When your people are skeptical that way, your organization cannot be solid,
cannot be strong.  In some serious cases, it may immediately put the
organization on deathbed, because it becomes so fragile and brittle. It can
be broken easily.  (That is why mafia organizations usually die the sudden
death).

When your people believe in your words, because they know that you are
honest, they will be more open and honest to you, and you will have better
and more accurate information and cooperation from your people to plan and
to execute your plans.

(Bill Clinton knows this point, so he did not volunteer to the world that he
lies.  He wanted everyone to believe that he was honest.  It just didn't
happen the way he wanted).

If someone tells me that he lies and cheats often, including the so-called
white lies, and can build a strong long-lasting organization, I know that he
is lying to me.  You cannot be competent if you are dishonest, because it is
impossible to build a strong organization without honesty.

In the short-term, yes, you can lie and do something big, because you can
fool people into believing in your honesty in the short term.  But in the
long-term, lies have their way to rise up to the surface and destroy your
organization.

Another note, most people make the mistake that they can lie freely to their
enemies.  My observation is that when you lie to your enemies, your
lieutenants may ask whether you lie to them when you may be unhappy about
them.  Lies, whatever kind of lie, always come back to hurt you.  In my
profession as a courtroom litigator, the best lawyers in the profession with
the best reputation of winning cases are very honest and careful about their
words.  Their honesty reputation plays a big role in helping them win cases,
because all the judges and their opponents trust their words.

Have a great day!

Hoanh
-- 
Tran Dinh Hoanh, LLB, JD
Washington DC
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