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I hate white lies.
Dishonesty - especially dishonesty in business - is usually bad form.
But there are times when lies of omission can be helpful. A lie of omission is one in which you leave out an important fact or detail.
Lies of omission can be helpful in business - for example, when you are looking for another distributor or another
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Comments
05.29.09
Honesty is the best policy - I think we can all agree on that. But as you said, sometimes omission is key. One thing that I learned (quickly) once I left college and entered into the working world is that what you DON'T say is as if not more important than what you do say. If you lay everything out their, your leveraging power is compromised, negotiations become more difficult, and people will take advantage of you.
There is a fine line between omission and dishonesty/unethical business practice - being selective in what you say is one thing, but outright lying to get your way - well, you don't have to hear it from me that usually, that will get you into a world of trouble.
05.29.09
I would generally agree with you.
Although I think if you build up a reputation for honesty and integrity, you can afford to - with people you trust on a similar level - lay out all the cards in the interest of brevity and simplicity in negotiations, knowing that your counterpart will do the same.
I think that millennials understand the idea of collaborative advantage better than the idea of competitive advantage, so you'll be seeing more of this as the millennials get more and more power.
-Nick
05.30.09
It’s somewhat interesting how you – GenY - would approach this question with so much integrity and so much concern. From my dealings with job candidates, representatives of baby boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, you of all have the guts and sometimes audacity to spell it out. Your truth is both honest (where you cringe as you speak it) and on occasion rude (‘that's who I am whether you like it or not’). Millennials know that to lie or omit the truth is to allow controversies and complications, which you know better to avoid. In the past, employees were coached to sell, oversell and push. Today Millennials don’t mind to say that they like working 9-5 so they can spend more time with family and friends. My advice – stay honest and as truthful as possible. We are learning to accept it.
05.31.09
Renee,
What you're describing used to be known as "terminal honesty". I would hope that the older generations are learning to expect, accept, and value pure honesty - the kind you cringe at.
I'm not certain that this is the case yet. Being terminally honest is still a possibility (that is to say, even when delivered with tact and humility).
We will see. I think it will take a baby boomer minority in business before the problem is resolved.
-Nick
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