This morning as I was driving to my data center for some emergency maintenance, I was listening to NPR’s “Morning Edition.”
An interesting topic came online that I feel the need to speak about.
There was a guest, author David Shulman, on the show that had written a
book entitled “From Hire to Liar: The Role of Deception in the Workplace”
examining lying in the workplace. The host and the guest author then go
on to discuss various instances where lying might be justified.

Let me first state that, while I believe any form of lying is
wrong and should be avoided at all costs, this is not the basis behind
my arguments here. No, my arguments here will focus around the business
justifications (both for the company and for the individual employee)
in these instances NOT to lie or deceive.

Also to note, however, is that I have NOT read the book. I do
wish to read the book as I believe (from the comments on the Amazon.com
site) that is basically wanders through the lives of many business
peoples lives exactly for the purpose of showing some of the amazing
lies that cripple our current businesses, and likely our very economy.

Problem #1 – What’s wrong with a little white lie, anyway?

Two words: slippery slope
Once you justify a small lie, how do you make sure you don’t go on to
bigger and badder lies? How do you draw the line when it comes to which
lie is ok to tell and which lie is too much? What happens if you’re
wrong in your judgment.

Problem #2 – How can you establish trust when you’re lying?

This
one is the most important. Once you lie, especially when you are caught
as that triggers the impressions in others’ minds, you establish the
precedence that you can, and sometimes will, lie to get what you want
or need. How does anybody know, from that point forward, what you say
is really to get what is needed in any given situation, or is just
fabricated to get what you want, but is not necessarily needed or the
best thing to do?

Problem #3 – What process is broken that is forcing you into a position where you are lying?

Lying
or deception is done for one of two reasons. Either 1) the process is
broken and you need to “work around” it, or 2) you are trying to do
something for which you don’t have the proper authority or privilege.
If it’s number 2, shame on you for trying to cheat the system. If it’s
number 1, see problems #1 and #2 and decide if it’s not a better path
to try and fix the process than it is to just lie about it and let the
process remain broken, causing you to lie further in the future to work
around the broken process.

Problem #4 – What impact does your lie have on business if it is not detected?

What
happens when you actually lie about something. Either you are trying to
work around a broken process, in which case the process generally
remains broken and inefficient, or you are trying to convince somebody
of something that is not really the case. Now, I’m not saying that
everybody needs or even should know every little detail regarding
everything that goes on in any situation. For example, I shouldn’t know
how much Bob in Accounting makes in salary, or how much Sally’s
Christmas bonus was last year, unless I am their manager. However, the
more information I have that I can rely on in making any given
decision, the better able I am going to be to make that decision in the
most proper way.

Problem #5 – What impact does your lie have on business if it IS detected?

The breakdown of trust can cause duplication of effort, territorial
struggles between departments, and undue competition for already
limited corporate resources. Where there is trust, there is teamwork.
Where there is teamwork, there is cooperation. Where there is
cooperation, there is efficiency.

Also, the lie might carry specific and dire consequences such as a mark
on your record, a pass on that promotion you were working so hard for,
or even termination in some cases. Do you really want to risk those
actions just to appease or impress somebody?

So my point is, before you tell a little “white lie” to appease
your manager, or your customer, or whomever you are lying to, think
carefully about why it is you’re lying, and whether it is really the
best thing to do. I know as a consumer, I am very skeptical of people’s
claims these days because of the almost epidemic that is prevalent in
the business community in this regard. This is a sad thing when I can’t
trust the word of my vendors and partners at face value because of the
sheer number of stories and experiences that I have heard and myself
had.