Monday, March 31, 2014

What do you do when the truth gets in the way?

I believe that truth brings focus. I also believe it keeps you from making mistakes when the desire to be liked takes over. The problem is that sometimes the truth gets in the way of what you think will lead to success. What do you do when the truth gets in the way?

The fact that it does get in the way is exactly why you must define the truth.  It will get in the way when you want to make a bad decision that may have short term gains over long-term benefit, it will get in the way when you want to abandon process, it will get in the way when you want to push an issue under the rug, and it will get in the way when dealing with employees, when dealing with customers, when dealing with your boss . But you need it to get in the way, you need it to define what is right and wrong, that is the rule of truth

If you are not going to allow the things that you hold true to get in the way then don't even bother going through and defining your truth. By the very definition of true, "being in accordance with the actual state of affairs", these items cannot be negotiated, the truth is part of the actual state of affairs.  It is a lot like the law of gravity or light. Your truth is the law to you. Do you negotiate with gravity?  Do you negotiate with the speed of light? No, you do not negotiate, it is what it is and it's the same in this case.

These are your laws that you and your organization live by. So when you go through and define truth, get ready to use it as a bulwark in those situations that you may struggle against.  It's making the right decisions in those situations that will pay the longest term benefit. No one needs truth for easy situations, you need to have it for those challenging situations.

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