Do you really know if everyone around you is being honest with you? No one wants to be lied to, yet untruths are everywhere. No one wants to admit they may occasionally lie, but they hypocritically expect everyone else to always tell the truth.

Growing up, I was told white lies are okay if they prevent someone’s feelings being hurt, but when do little white lies turn big and dangerous? Just like the American TV show Big Little Lies featuring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, the little lies can rapidly spiral out of control with disastrous consequences.

“That’s not what I ordered; I wanted a latte,” Adam Konran, editor of Forbes magazine, told the barista at WeWork’s corporate headquarters in 2015.1 “Oh, we call lattes cappuccinos, and cappuccinos lattes, around here!” the barista enthusiastically replied, much to Konran’s surprise. Why the coffee confusion? It all began when WeWork CEO Adam Neumann insisted that his preferred coffee drink was called a latte, when he actually wanted a cappuccino. Did anyone tell him the truth, correct him, and explain his mistake? Absolutely not. Instead, the barista and all the employees at the headquarters renamed the coffee drinks to fit with what Neumann incorrectly believed they were called based on his preference of frothy foam versus steamed milk.

Do you think your team would tell you if you got the coffee description wrong?

This almost unbelievable tale is the modern-day version of the emperor who has no clothes. Not one single person at WeWork felt they could tell Neumann the truth about coffee. Instead, it became a widespread part of the WeWork culture of drink ordering. Every time any intern, new employee, senior executive, or visitor ordered a coffee, they played along, changing the name, explaining to those not in the know the façade that had been built because of their CEO. Which begs the question, if they were dishonest about coffee, what else were they covering up or lying about?

The most successful executives are comfortable being told they are wrong, openly invite debate, and actively encourage those around them to tell them that they are wrong.

Can you remember the last time someone spotted your mistake? How did you react? That is what teaches those around you how ready you are to hear the truth.

If you want to distinguish between the truth and a well-intended lie read the first chapter of Words That Work here. It provides inside access to CEOs who have been lied to and how they were able to create a company where contagious truth telling led to profit and revenue beyond everyone’s expectations.

It reviews some of the biggest little lies in recent corporate history and why they matter, let’s you start your Words That Work journey at the most crucial point, making sure you are being told the truth, can share the truth, and know how to spot a lie.

Words That Work Communicate Your Purpose, Your Performance, and Your Profit. Order your copy at your favorite local bookstore to support your local small business. Or you can preorder it online at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, Target, Booktopia.au, Waterstones, Amazon.ca

Launching:
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If you want to pre order additional copies for your team or event let me know and I can extend special offers and discounts to you.