Transparency vs. getting results

- A lot of companies include transparency … in their list of corporate values. … Now, that doesn't just mean telling the truth. … It means telling the whole truth. … Especially in situations where it might benefit you … to just say nothing at all. … And, like many other values, this one can seem like … it makes it difficult to get the results you want. … And in this scenario, you'll see a couple of examples … of that play out. … So, imagine the chief executive officer … and the chief financial officer are having … a private conversation about how the company's profits … are going to look this quarter. … Now, the quarter ends in about three weeks … and everybody's been stressed because the forecasts … are showing that they're not going to make their numbers. … But the CFO assures his boss that they are going … to make their numbers. … And when the boss asks how he's so sure, … the CFO gives him two reasons. … First, he told him that he'd already talked … to the VP of sales. … He'd asked her to call their top three customers …