Absolute Honesty: Building a Corporate Culture That Values Straight Talk and Rewards Integrity

Ethics has no enemies, or so we all like to think. Yet the corporate landscape has been an ethical battleground in recent years, with the corrupt behaviors of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and others leading many to question whether "corporate integrity" is an oxymoron. But for most companies, fortunately, the problem is not whether to practice truthfulness and accountability. It's how to integrate such practices into the culture so that they are rewarded, self-perpetuating, and virtually automatic. Absolute Honesty provides the blueprint. It gives you a template for creating and sustaining a business environment of open communication and healthy debate. It replaces what the authors call the Kumbaya Syndrome -- embrace all decisions, no matter how stupid or unethical; smile and sing the company campfire song! -- with a straight-thinking system that respects honesty instead of demeaning it. At once timely and timeless, this book shows you how to build a cultural infrastructure rooted in the Six Laws of Absolute Honesty. Through a rich selection of anecdotal case studies from such organizations as Marriott Hotels, Costco, and the U.S. Army, Absolute Honesty illustrates the quantifiable business benefits of absolute honesty. Whether your primary objective is to create a memorable brand, build market share, increase workforce productivity, or establish consistent leadership, the process outlined by these authors will help you get there. The results will speak for themselves.