Truth in Business

Are you a seeker of truth in your company?

Do you trust the people, information, and business results?

Do you know the reality of your business?

The Truth

Writing about the importance of telling the truth in business might seem unnecessary.

We all know that you shouldn’t lie, cheat, or steal and most businesses live up to those basics, or they fail fast.

But conducting business in a fundamentally truthful way means going beyond those basics and adopting an honest, open, and customer-centric culture.

Observing a deeper standard of doing business truthfully is hard work and a tremendous asset for your company–it’s the foundation for customer trust and the long-term relationships built as a result.

It is also the basis for a career-building relationship with your employees.

Why the Truth Is So Powerful

Truth is so powerful because it’s the only thing that cannot be bought.

Ninety percent of the things in the universe can be bought: better health, education, relationships, experiences, and more fun.

The one thing that can’t be bought no matter how wealthy you are is the truth.

Truth in Business

There are two sides to the truth.

The first side is when we speak the truth, and the other side is when others speak the truth to us.

It is essential to speak the truth; otherwise, it will come out on its own.

We waste time and energy when we avoid the truth. We must understand that the truth always comes out. Instead of using blame, shame, justification, or straight out lying, we need to tell the truth.

Even if the short-term repercussions of the truth seem to favor others, telling the truth will always bring the right energy to things. So, although we may feel as if we put ourselves in a pragmatic disadvantage, there is no doubt the truth will always be the best route.

How to Find the Truth

1. Know what you know – Your experience has already led you to know truths about your business, industry, and the world out there. Don’t discount that.
2. Ask Questions – Feel a biting or pricking in the back of your brain? Something doesn’t sound right, feel right, or has a tiny yellow flag attached to it? Ask open-ended what, how, and then why questions.
3. Research and Reach Out – Still don’t like what you hear? Then, it’s time to embrace your inner Sherlock Holmes and do research, talk to different people and layers within the organization and gather data – both raw and analyzed to see what the story tells you.
4. Evaluate Facts, not Feelings – To discern the information you have gathered, you’ll want to evaluate what you know to be factual. Results are your most significant indicator.
5. Be Open to All Information – You may find something you don’t want to know.

For example, you may discover an employee who is your friend and was valuable when you started the company is now the barrier to a healthy culture. These are hard “truths” to uncover.  Don’t ignore the hard stuff.

6. Understand Your Bias – You can blind yourself by being too attached to one person or the way you have always done business. Bring others to the conversation to help you see and understand personal or organizational bias.

The Bible

It seems that truth has become a somewhat dirty word, or at least a corrupted one. In its place, we are left with a whole lot of uncertainty.

John 18:37b says.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Notice that He says “the truth,” not any old truth. Jesus adds, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Again, notice it’s “the truth,” something definite—not vague. Jesus has come to proclaim and confirm the truth to those who are seeking the truth.

The Bible identifies truth not simply as the absence of lies but as a quality intrinsic to the very nature of God.  The truth is that which is constant and unchangeable, something on which someone can rely, which will prove true in the future.

That is the nature of God—and needs to be the nature of our actions in our businesses.

You need to find the truth in business — and to understand what truth is, look only to God.