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

WorldCom. Enron. Tyco. Shocking accusations of dishonesty and silent complicity have dominated headlines recently, and cost the American economy trillions of dollars. Clearly, dishonesty doesn’t pay. Drawing from these stories, as well as from more positive ones, Absolute Honesty shows how to establish and maintain a culture where honest communication is the norm, and employees can speak openly without fear of retribution. The book illustrates the impact that truthfulness and accountability can have on organizations, attacking the sort of passivity that allows little lies to grow into giant disasters. Structured around the Six Laws of Absolute Honesty, this insightful book goes beyond simply extolling the virtues of ethics to provide a template managers can use to maintain an environment of healthy debate. It also contains a toolbox of techniques anyone can apply to improve his or her ability to confront and resolve difficult issues. Companies can reap huge benefits from cultivating an atmosphere of trust. Absolute Honesty is an important, timely book that provides readers with the tools and strategies to establish a culture in which communication thrives and results speak for themselves.

Larry Johnson (Scottsdale, AZ) is an internationally renowned speaker and consultant whose clients include Lloyd’s of London, Harley-Davidson, and Nordstrom. Bob Phillips (Bend, OR) has more than 30 years’ experience as a human resources professional, including vice president positions at Tektronix and Thomson Multimedia.