Without Truth You Can't

 hold these truths to be self-evident." With that one statement our Constitution calibrates at a level of 700- enlightenment.

"The truth! You can't handle the truth!" With that one statement Jack Nicholson's character, in the movie A Few Good Men, falls apart on the witness stand. His men trusted him to protect them but instead, his version of the truth, corrupted him.

More than ever you can't have trust if you don't have the truth. The truth comes in sharing the facts and information with others- both the good and the bad. It comes with the ability to clearly separate opinion from fact. It comes from the ability to lay out the unknowns or obstacles as succinctly as possible so people can make the most effective decisions.

In sales, if you are going to be truthful and create trust then it means you can be going for the yes. If you are, it will cause a conflict for you with how you listen. When you go for the yes your brain starts to ONLY listen for what fits your parameters, you begin to "shade" the truth so it fits, and you don't challenge when you should. If you want clients to trust you, they need to know you will always be truthful when working with them even if it means sending them to the competitors. In the movie Miracle on 34th Street, Santa brought more business in to Macy's by sending people to Gimbles or other stores for toys Macy's was out of or didn't carry.

As a leader you can't expect to have a high trust culture when you aren't truthful about your own shortcomings. People need to see that you are willing to be candid about what you are good at and what you are worki