Radiate Candor   (Part 2)                                          (back to Part 1)
--Create a Culture of Trust

In the 1991 movie The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins is
Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a cannibalistic scientist who agrees to help
FBI agent Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster, capture a serial
killer called Buffalo Bill.  On one condition: if he is to yield insight
into the mind of the other killer, she must disclose secrets about
her childhood.  Quid pro quo.  It was a riveting chemistry.  Not for
one moment do you ever think that either of them will betray the
other's trust.  

In my business ethics class, the case study of Enron provides
hours of heated discussion.  From 1996 to 2001, Fortune
magazine had named Enron, the former energy and
communication concern, the most innovative company in America.  
In fact, its accountants, lawyers and officers had created financial
lies that destroyed the lives of countless employees and  
stockholders.  Its CEO Jeffrey Skilling landed in jail and corporate
America witnessed the birth of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  What does
it say about a society when trust needs to be legislated?  

For years people have told Gallup polls they find politicians,
lawyers and advertisers to be the least trustworthy members of our
society.  How ironic that the folks doing the most communicating
are the ones thought to be doing the most lying.  Which
professionals always find themselves on top?  The nurses.  The
ones who care.  The ones who tell you to be brave and that it’s all
going to be OK.  If Gallup were to take polls of us in our personal
capacities, how would we measure up as children, parents and
friends?

Transparency International, headquartered in Berlin, is a leading
non-governmental organization combating the forces of hidden
corruption in government and business.  Its years of research have
shown that corruption in its most pernicious forms--bribes,
kickbacks and false accounting practices--has had devastating
effects on the lives of ordinary citizens throughout the world.  The
message is clear: anything less than transparency in the way
governments, businesses and individuals interact is a recipe for
human disaster.  

How much longer can we afford to deceive ourselves and watch
our relationships deteriorate because of lack of trust?  Agent
Starling understood she didn't have the luxury of wasting time on
lies with Dr. Lecter.  It was this realization that brought about
resolution and truth.  The most dangerous deception is the one that
fools us into thinking we can afford to delay being open and
honest.  Tomorrow may hold all our hopes, but we'll never get there
without mutual trust.

Move on to
Lesson 6   Observe Caution
Lesson 5   Radiate Candor
--Create a Culture of Trust