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

by Larry Johnson, Bob Phillips

Overview

An important, timely book that provides you with the tools and strategies to establish a culture in which communication thrives and results speak for themselves.

In this invaluable resource, you will discover:

• the impact that truthfulness and accountability can have on organizations,
• a toolbox of techniques anyone can apply to improve his or her ability to confront and resolve difficult issues,
• and a template managers can use to maintain an environment of healthy debate.

Structured around the Six Laws of Absolute Honesty, this insightful book goes beyond simply extolling the virtues of ethics to attack the sort of passivity that allows little lies to grow into giant disasters. Companies can reap huge benefits from cultivating an atmosphere of trust.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814434802
Publisher:	AMACOM
Publication date:	06/20/2003
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	498,125
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	17 Years

About the Author

LARRY JOHNSON is a corporate culture expert and professional speaker. Together, as the Johnson Training Group, their clients include American Express, Harley-Davidson, Nordstrom, Dairy Queen, and many others.

Bob Phillips, PhD, is a licensed counselor and the director at large for Hume Lake Christian Camps, one of the nation's largest youth camping programs. He is the best-selling author of over forty books.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	vii
Part 1	The Challenge	1
Chapter 1	The Naked Truth	3
	The Kumbaya Syndrome	4
	It Ain't Easy	7
	Cultures of Integrity	9
	Compelling Brands	10
	Competitive Advantages	12
	Productive Workforces	13
	Consistent Leadership	16
	Positive Morale	18
Chapter 2	A Culture of Absolute Honesty	22
	What Is Corporate Culture?	24
	Common Behavior Patterns	25
	Organizational Values and Beliefs	29
	Personal Attitudes and Assumptions	37
	Embarking on the Transformation	40
	The Formula for Effective Change	42
	The Transformation Process	46
	The Six Laws of Absolute Honesty	49
Part 2	The Six Laws of Absolute Honesty	53
Chapter 3	Absolute Honesty Law #1: Tell the Truth	55
	Tell the Truth: You Create Trust	56
	Tell the Truth: You Do the Right Thing	57
	Tell the Truth: You Discover It's Rarely as Painful as You Think	58
	Tell the Truth: You Pay a Higher Price for Lying	60
	Tell the Truth: You Get It Behind You	62
	Tell the Truth: You Keep Things Simple	65
	Eight Great Fears of Telling the Truth	66
	Fear Kills the Soul	78
	No Excuse for Abuse	79
	Fear No Truth	80
Chapter 4	Absolute Honesty Law #2: Tackle the Problem	82
Step 1	Do Your Homework	83
Step 2	Open the Debate	90
Step 3	Open Your Ears	96
Step 4	Open Your Mouth	100
Step 5	Open Your Mind	103
Step 6	Close the Deal	108
Chapter 5	Absolute Honesty Law #3: Disagree and Commit	111
	Speak Up and Disagree	113
	What Leaders Can Do to Encourage Disagreement	120
	Stop Whining and Commit	127
	What Leaders Can Do to Encourage Commitment	135
	Creating a Cultural Norm of Disagree and Commit	139
	The Brutal Facts of Greatness	141
Chapter 6	Absolute Honesty Law #4: Welcome the Truth	143
	Defensiveness: The Enemy of Honesty	145
	Reasons for Defensiveness	151
	Moving from "Attack and Defend" to "Discuss and Solve"	165
	Minimizing Defensiveness in Others	168
	Removing the Great Wall	174
Chapter 7	Absolute Honesty Law #5: Reward the Messenger	176
	Blatant Retribution	178
	Intentional but Subtle Retribution	179
	Unintentional Retribution	181
	Disconfirming Messages	184
	Perception Can Be Reality	189
	Sleazy, Wacko, Bizarre Management Practices	190
	Manager's Code of Conduct	192
	Truth on a Napkin	201
Chapter 8	Absolute Honesty Law #6: Build a Platform of Integrity	203
	Focus on What's Important	208
	It Starts with Leadership	209
	Leadership Obsession = Organizational Infection	213
	Create a Platform of Integrity	214
	Build Your Platform on Ethical Tenets	217
	Noninstrumental Ethics	219
	Why Noninstrumental Ethics?	220
	Establish an Ethical Foundation	224
	Applying the Five Tenets to Up-Selling	227
	No Easy Answers	228
	Create and Stick to a Platform of Integrity	229
	Base Your Platform of Integrity on Solid Ethics	230
	Live by Your Platform of Integrity	233
	Developing the Tenets and the Platform	235
	Ethics and Profitability	239
	Toward an Ethical Culture	240
Part 3	Where Do We Go from Here?	243
Chapter 9	Building an Ethical Infrastructure	245
	Leadership	246
	Philosophy	247
	Communication	248
	Training	249
	Rewards and Consequences	250
	Small Businesses Too	252
	Don't Forget Good Judgment	253
	No Guarantee, but ...	254
Chapter 10	Key Points to Help Your Implementation Efforts	255
	The Naked Truth	256
	A Culture of Absolute Honesty	258
Absolute Honesty Law #1	Tell the Truth	262
Absolute Honesty Law #2	Tackle the Problem	265
Absolute Honesty Law #3	Disagree and Commit	267
Absolute Honesty Law #4	Welcome the Truth	270
Absolute Honesty Law #5	Reward the Messenger	273
Absolute Honesty Law #6	Build a Platform of Integrity	276
	Notes	279
	Index	287

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Cecil Johnson, syndicated columnist: "Absolute Honesty rises above most of the other books proclaiming honesty as the best policy that have flooded the market since the Enron and WorldCom scandals broke."

Pharmaceutical Representative: "Give the current climate of our fiercely competitive industry, and the scrutiny from government agencies in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, this is one you can’t be without. Use it as a template to create this kind of change in your company and any organization you belong to. Being honest and forthright with people while also being respectful is not always easy. It’s tough to fight the feeling of defensiveness or the urge to take things personally, but it’s worth it in the end. This book can show you how to do it — and do it effectively."

Jack Covert, president and founder of 800-CEO-READ and syndicated columnist: "Absolute Honesty is the book we all need to read to create a culture that could and should help us avoid nightmares like Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Martha Stewart, and Adelphia."

Editorial Reviews

Cecil Johnson, syndicated columnist: "Absolute Honesty rises above most of the other books proclaiming honesty as the best policy that have flooded the market since the Enron and WorldCom scandals broke."

From the Publisher

Absolute Honesty rises above most of the other books proclaiming honesty as the best policy that have flooded the market since the Enron and WorldCom scandals broke.
—syndicated columnist

Cecil Johnson