Hello,
Today I wanted to write about another topic that came to mind when visiting Marrakech, which is about honesty in business. This is a fluid notion in many parts of the world and in quite a sharp contrast to someone like me, being Dutch. We hold the truth to be very rigid, inflexible and paramount to our integrity. Not that we don't all tell the odd white to stop us from looking rude (yes, you look hideous in that outfit....), but that is usually as far as it goes.
Depending on the sort of role you are in, the type of industry and company you are in and where you live the truth can have a very different meaning. I used to work in a manufacturing environment with a great number of engineers. A fork lift truck will either be able to lift a certain amount of weight, or it will topple over and kill lots of people. So if you are designing or manufacturing one, being precise and forthcoming with the truth is very important.
In my recent dealings with shop keepers, tour guides and other people trying to make a living out of tourists in Marrakech, of course the truth was less important than the amount of money that could be made. We were told stories that were blatantly untrue. The amount of times we were told a street was closed because it did not lead past the shop they wanted us to visit!
So what can you do? First of all never accept anything that is important to you at face value. And do not assume anything!!! Just because you would do things in a certain way, or would be more or less truthful than someone else doesn't mean that they will. Ask detailed questions and get the answers in writing. If you are dealing with a foreign agent or supplier for example who tells you everything is fine, get them to detail how many leads they have, how much stock, what their cash flow is, when they can deliver by etc. Do not be afraid that these request will offend people, as long as you are tactful about it and explain why exactly you need this information.
At least if you have this information in writing and things still went wrong, you have evidence of it. Ideally put down as much as possible in legally binding contracts. And if people want you to just trust them on their word? Then weigh up how catastrophic it would be if things did not go as promised.
Hope you enjoyed this posting or found it useful, if so please spread the word on my blog!
Today I wanted to write about another topic that came to mind when visiting Marrakech, which is about honesty in business. This is a fluid notion in many parts of the world and in quite a sharp contrast to someone like me, being Dutch. We hold the truth to be very rigid, inflexible and paramount to our integrity. Not that we don't all tell the odd white to stop us from looking rude (yes, you look hideous in that outfit....), but that is usually as far as it goes.
Depending on the sort of role you are in, the type of industry and company you are in and where you live the truth can have a very different meaning. I used to work in a manufacturing environment with a great number of engineers. A fork lift truck will either be able to lift a certain amount of weight, or it will topple over and kill lots of people. So if you are designing or manufacturing one, being precise and forthcoming with the truth is very important.
In my recent dealings with shop keepers, tour guides and other people trying to make a living out of tourists in Marrakech, of course the truth was less important than the amount of money that could be made. We were told stories that were blatantly untrue. The amount of times we were told a street was closed because it did not lead past the shop they wanted us to visit!
So what can you do? First of all never accept anything that is important to you at face value. And do not assume anything!!! Just because you would do things in a certain way, or would be more or less truthful than someone else doesn't mean that they will. Ask detailed questions and get the answers in writing. If you are dealing with a foreign agent or supplier for example who tells you everything is fine, get them to detail how many leads they have, how much stock, what their cash flow is, when they can deliver by etc. Do not be afraid that these request will offend people, as long as you are tactful about it and explain why exactly you need this information.
At least if you have this information in writing and things still went wrong, you have evidence of it. Ideally put down as much as possible in legally binding contracts. And if people want you to just trust them on their word? Then weigh up how catastrophic it would be if things did not go as promised.
Hope you enjoyed this posting or found it useful, if so please spread the word on my blog!
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