Tag Archives: culture change

Be honest, are you transparent?

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Last week I sold my car by advertising it as a private sale.

Two brothers turned up to view it. They were the first and were clearly very keen having asked for my assurance on many occasions on the phone that I will not sell the car until they came to see it.

In fact, they were so keen that I actually started to question the price I had advertised it for(!).

They kicked the tyres and we took it for a test drive. I knew there were certain things that already required repair. I also knew they probably would not pick up on these points.

If I told them, what if they were no longer interested in purchasing the car? Should I tell them, or wait to be asked? If they suspect the faults I will definitely be honest, that’s not lying right?

Honesty is being free of deceit; truthful and sincere when you are asked.

Transparency is being free of deceit; truthful and sincere before you are asked.

I know honesty can also mean being honest, before you are asked. But have you ever thought just how powerful transparency actually is?

The two brothers ended up buying the car, despite me telling them of the faults. Why?

When I told them about the faults quite openly, I empowered them. They had information they felt they didn’t have and were likely not to have.

When I am honest reactively, I know this builds trust. But leaves people questioning, why did I have to ask? What else do I not know?

The word ‘builds’ by itself implies it is not yet built.

When I am honest proactively i.e. transparent, trust goes a longer way to being built.

The same applies to companies. Some companies were selling Payment Protection Insurance (“PPI”) to customers who had already retired! How can this even make sense! They were sold an insurance product they would never make a claim on. These customers never asked the loan providers the question of whether they needed PPI and so they were sold it, bundled with the monthly repayments of the loan.

If a customer had asked if they needed PPI on their loan, in some cases customers were blatantly lied to. Some other loan providers were honest at that point and did not sell it. But the question had to be asked. Is this honesty?

What if companies were actually transparent? What if they said, hey, we could make money by selling you this product, but you know what, you’re not going to get much value from it so we would rather not. What happens?

What happens is you get trust from your customers, quickly.

In both our work and private lives, we should realise that being transparent is the highest level of honesty.

This highest level of honesty brings the highest level of trust.

And the highest level of trust in turn brings the highest level of loyalty.

Which business or individual would not want that?

I’ll let you know when I’m selling my next car…

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“Working from home” are you?

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This was a grave week. Our employer informed us that they are taking measures to cut down on people working from home.

I was amazed quite frankly. The reason given was “we should be in the office so we are together”. Thanks, that’s very helpful.

There are many organisations that are moving in the opposite direction with supporting research suggesting working from home can actually be more productive and increase employee engagement. Why should it matter where you work (provided we have the technology to communicate)? Is it not more important whether you are actually getting your work done on time and to a high standard?

Agreed, working from home all the time will not be sensible and it loses any personal connection and group energy.

But why are employees so keen to work from home? Is it because we now have the technology available so it makes sense to do it? Is it a must, perhaps childcare, furniture delivery, having the car serviced? Or is it because of the freedom – no boss overlooking your every move so perhaps you can spend some time working and some time doing what you would otherwise do in your leisure time?

Why are employers not so keen? Maybe employees cannot be trusted? As London Mayor Boris Johnson once joked “we all know that it is sitting wondering whether to go down to the fridge to hack off that bit of cheese before checking your emails again”.

There may be a wider issue. Google report that the majority of their employees…actually prefer to come to the office to work! Why would you do that when you can work from home and no one cares in a high tech, trendy non-regimented company?

Could it be that the trust issue is not whether employers trust their employees? But rather, do employees trust their employer?

When you are made promises on the company’s value and beliefs and these do not transpire, then naturally you will lose trust and feel disengaged.

Tony Schwartz surveyed 12,000 plus employees to find out what increases employee engagement. This was put down to four key things:

1. Physical (opportunity to recharge)

2. Emotional (feeling valued)

3. Mental (autonomy to do things and be creative)

4. Spiritual (connected to a higher purpose)

So this leads us to the question, what practical steps can an organisation take to increase trust and therefore engagement of their employees?

Stay tuned for a future post on this. Now to get back to work (only messing)!

What is your employer like? What do they do that makes you feel engaged? Do you trust your employer?

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Good people bring out the good in people…

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Have you ever thought about the company you are with? In terms of your social circle.

You have, right? We all have at some point.

Have you ever realised how important this actually is?

Well, I only discovered this on a recent trip to France this summer. A week away in France on a meditation trip, living in a forest and not knowing what the people were going to be like naturally did seem ominous.

On arrival I realised the scale of this retreat. Approximately 3,000 people in the middle of nowhere from all different nationalities around the world and all age groups. Literally toddlers to 70 year plus people. I was somewhat overwhelmed.

As I was setting up my tent in a pitch black forest I heard a voice behind me say “Satnam”. This means ‘truth’ and is a way people in kundalini yoga greet and close meetings with others. It was a girl from Russia, also on her first retreat. She asked if I needed a torch she was holding. I was thinking I don’t know you, your battery is probably draining on the torch that you will need for the next seven nights, why would you offer your torch to me? I was on guard!

The next day as I walked aimlessly not knowing where I was meant to be I tried the “Satnam” approach. I made new friends who not only directed and walked with me but they also offered me extra padding for support as they were worried my mat was perhaps too thin for the ground.

Where was I? Do these people think I’m some type of deity or Hollywood star to offer such hospitality?

At meal times, complete strangers would offer food to each other if anyone were short. If you have a question about something, people will greet you with a warm smile before answering.

One evening, I returned to my tent to find a note attached. I had completely forgot but I’d left my shirt on top of my tent to dry that morning. It rained in the afternoon and there was a note saying, “It started to rain. Hope you don’t mind but I put your shirt under a cover next to the tree”. No name was mentioned. It was only two days later that a complete stranger said, “I hope you found your shirt”.

Maybe this is what heaven feels like.

There are many stories and towards the end of that week I made some very good friends.

But I noticed something about my behaviour when I was there. I was obviously happy, but I felt more confident. I felt at peace. I could ask any question and no one would judge me.

People randomly told me my good qualities. Qualities I didn’t even know I had. They did this with others. I was doing it too. It was contagious to be nice to people.

“When you appreciate the good. The good appreciates”.

The word appreciate means two things 1. to value something 2. to increase in worth.

I realised as more people were being authentic and helpful it made me even more authentic and helpful. We were in a circle that I always wanted to be in..

It hit me when I was there just how important it is to be around good people. How it made me feel. The strongest memories are made of feelings.

It doesn’t mean you never disagree or get angry or disappointed. That happened too. What is important is how those emotions are channeled being around good company.

I came back thinking about the company I am with. Why do I have to leave that feeling in France? What if it could exist in my personal life at home and in my work life? Where we can make choices about the people we are with, that’s what I chose to do. I still have all my same friends but I am more careful when I spend my time. I am amazed at how different I feel. I knew it was important but never this much.

If you truly want to excel in your life, whether in work in your society or spirituality, stay in the company of good people.

Take time this week to reflect on the company you are with. Then make proactive choices to spend time in the company of the good.

“Company of good people is like walking in to a shop of perfumes. Whether you buy the perfumes or not, you are bound to receive the fragrance”.

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