What happens when we punish the truth? As children we are told to always tell the truth. Society asks for lies. Which is best? What happens when a business organization chooses lies over truth? Well let us ask the mortgage industry…
For many years large mortgage companies had been concerned about one thing and one thing only:PURE PROFIT. Now as we are learning, this does have its consequences. Not only must we think of the bottom line but now we must incorporate social consequences such as being green and boosting the economy into that bottom line in order to flourish.
For example a major mortgage lender, previously THE largest lender in America, just learned what happens when you value profits over truth. Employees had been alerting the upper echelons of management since approximately 2004 about what would happen if the company continued to make bad loans. What happened to the employees who spoke up? Fired. Blacklisted.
Is this the way to run a business? OBVIOUSLY it is not; otherwise they would have survived this mortgage crisis instead of being bought out. So what can you do to avoid becoming the next company bought out by B.O.A? First of all, LISTEN to your employees. You hire middle and lower level management for a reason. One person simply cannot keep their eye on more than one place at once. If someone comes to you with an issue from his or her division, listen. What does it hurt?
By listening you choose to learn something possibly of great value for very little cost. What do you gain by turning them away? Nothing but resent and disloyalty. By allowing the few “bad seeds” to run the middle of the company, it set itself up for disaster. Every employee is valuable and can offer feedback and insight that can make or break a company if one so chooses.
Remember this when making hiring decisions. Will this person tell the truth, even if it affects their bottom line? Are they who I want on my team? By thinking like this we can avoid many future disasters and boost long-term business and overall satisfaction. Be Smart!
Filed under: Business, Management | Tagged: Business, business tips, honest business, honesty, honesty in the workplace, truth
