Survey published by Mckensey Quarterly shows that if a company gets the right skill set in the room, has a transparent criteria for decisions, and considers the whole picture the outcome often exceeds expectations for revenue, profitability and speed of completion. These are more stats that show why clients who go through our strategy process typically exceed their goals. This article is a great read.

The research company GlobeScan annually surveys a thousand top thought leaders, as well as the general public, in a majority of countries around the world on some really pertinent issues. At the Sustainable Brand Conference in 2007, Rob Kerr, Executive VP of GlobeScan, discussed recent key findings. That research showed how rapidly the consumer’s sense of empowerment is increasing. Does the consumer believe they possess the power to influence a company’s behavior? Over the last few years there is strong and steady growth in mainstream activism in most countries.

It’s no surprise there is now a strong belief that a company should be rewarded for being socially and environmentally responsible, but there is an even stronger sense that a company should be punished for harming social and environmental health. In North America, 46% of leaders say they would reward a company for good behavior while 55% say they would punish a company for behavior that may damage social or environmental health.  Now, that’s a sense of empowerment.

These statistics indicate there are a growing number of individuals around the world who feel they can apply pressure that will force companies to comply with their desires. And, of course, they are right. Companies desperately need those who will purchase their products or services. There is no business without someone to do business with.

It is interesting that the sixties helped us distrust authority, but it took until now sometime after the turn of the century—to really understand that the buyer, not the seller, has the power.

So now, we come full circle. We, as a culture, have begun to awaken and realize that without a reason for being, we will end up in a lost, pointless existence. Now, everything has shifted. We want more—more than just “stuff” for the sake of having it. We want more than the emotional high of associating our personal worth with the brands we choose. We want less jargon and more for our money. We want to save the trees, save the planet, save the children, and educate the poor, and we want a product that does what it claims it will do. Or we’re out.

This is an exciting time for those who prefer telling the truth. It’s encouraging that we are all demanding more from the products and offerings we spend our money on. It restores a little faith in human nature. But it will also increase the demands on the business owners to pay attention to their customers.

As a culture we used to evaluate a product based largely on the brand. We would overlook functionality and satisfaction. What could fill that huge gap in logic?

Emotion.

Our affluent culture offered us, as consumers, far too many decisions to make in a typical day. We were grateful for anything that could speed up any of those decisions, especially one that is emotionally changed.

It’s impossible to know all the reasons why our culture, at least for a time, fell prey to the egotistical message of the Brand. But I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that we evolved to a place where we had the affluence and leisure time to move higher up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, without the discipline to do so.

Here’s what I mean by that statement: We, as a culture, had been working really hard—toiled through the infancy of the industrial revolution and a couple of world wars—and then the fabulous time-saving, pre-packaged goods rolled into our homes and made our lives a breeze.

That’s the point at which we became lost in the pleasure of our reprieve and quickly forgot why we had worked so hard. We wanted a well-deserved break, a little time to bathe in our newly won luxury. We lost touch with the bigger goals and meaning of life. Without a more noble pursuit that humans naturally long for, we were left with stuff, experiences, and purchases that we then used to make us feel alive and important. In that context, an exciting brand illusion appeared to be just the thing we needed. Good branding could offer us the timesaving, pre-packaged replacement to a meaningful life. Thankfully, this shallow solution was not going to last forever.

It’s the one thing (other than stable cash flow) that businesses long for—loyalty from buyers and from their staff. Some would say that it is nearly impossible for a business to hold a person’s attention and trust. What would cause this? Too much clutter and too many distractions? The unraveling of moral fiber in our culture? What?

Here is an interesting fact. Gallup says, “Many employees are highly motivated when joining a company but then become increasingly disillusioned.” That sounds quite similar to how a consumer looses interest in a product or service.

It seems clear that, in the beginning, the employee or buyer is pleased they have made the right choice for themselves, but some how there expectations are not met.  The source is easy to find the solution simple in understand, but challenging to execute.

If a company truly understands themselves and their offerings and then has the discipline to represent it correctly, in both hiring and communicating with potential buyers, there will be little disappointment. The company will have accurately explained what the person is about to experience and the person will then have the exact experience they expected, hopefully an even better experience than they expected. It’s likely the decision maker will feel more committed to the business, and loyalty will be built, as it always has been, with one trustworthy action after another.

The difficulty really lies in defining the true values and principals that naturally propel a company forward and aligning the company according to those guidelines. But once you’ve done that, it all becomes straightforward, your business and marketing strategy as well as how you relate to your staff and buyers.

Here are a few more tips on developing a healthy honesty in business.

The previous entries addressed a study that shows people lie often and the most popular people lie the most often. Since every business wants to become more popular, how will this effect your business negatively?

Next it makes sense to address how can you minimize any negative impact. Here are additional ideas.

Learn how to investigate your personal and collective presuppositions. Writing them out in actual sentences or bullets is a great way to become aware of them. We make many assumptions in any decision process. Start with what you can unveil now and add to it whenever you become aware of another. It will become easer to recognize with practice. Eventually it will become a habit.

Make certain the problem is framed in reality before attempting to solve it. Develop the discipline to stop and ask the problem you are about to solve is really the one you need to be solving. Is there a problem that is deeper rooted? Is this problem based on un-investigated presuppositions? Why do we think this is the problem? Because it’s always been the one we’ve been trying to sole or do we really this is the real problem?

Demonstrate how the truth can be gracefully told. If you aren’t certain how to do this, seek out help. There must be someone you know who has this skill. Often a great sales person will be a natural at this; however beware they are typically comfortable with bending the truth. Begin to change your own speech patterns and launch a company-wide effort that acknowledges the current state of the organizational culture.

Just be honest?  It’s not that easy.

The last entry addressed a study that shows people lie often and the most popular people lie the most often. Since every business wants to become more popular, how will this effect your business negatively?

Next it makes sense to address how can you minimize any negative impact. How do you become honest in a culture that tends to lie? First it makes sense to start with facing the reality that lies are a possible lubricant for the culture inside your business—they can advance or destroy it. You cannot irradiate all lies nor do you need to. Does your associate really need to know their hair didn’t turn out well today?

Investigate your own motives. Access how much you value the health of your company. If this requires uncovering the truth about the entrenched beliefs about your company, your market, your current and potential buyers and your own ideas as compared to feeding your self-perception as a smart person with the best ideas.

Demand the truth. Ask directly for it. Keep asking for more. Establish at the beginning of the conversation that the rules are changing and when you ask what they think you really don’t mean ” agree with me so I feel good about a decision I’ve already made.” Be clear that you are seeking insight based on the reality of the situation. Be persistent. Repeat this every time you request an opinion. It will take perseverance to break the established culture of lying. Teach your executive staff to demonstrate this behavior.