Page 28 - The Voice of Authority

remember,” “I don’t recall,” “I don’t know,” and maybe
some confusion on dates and details.
What I didn’t expect was this. When we had half a dozen
meetings, I didn’t expect the Realtor to say that we had
only two. When we’d walked through the house with the
Realtor on four occasions, I didn’t expect her to say that
we’d never been inside the house. When we’d asked the Re-
altor repeatedly to investigate the floodplain situation, I
didn’t expect her to say the issue “had never come up.”
Since the property flooded every time there was a heavy
rain, I didn’t expect the landowner to say he “forgot” his
property was in a floodway.
As I later recounted the experience to an attorney friend,
his response was not exactly comforting. “I’m a criminal
lawyer. I see it happen every day with police officers and
public officials where there are no witnesses. Every day.” It
was one of the most emotionally draining two days of my
life.
Lying at work has the same effect. Spin drains us and
enrages us. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth . . . should not be three different things.

The Climate

Can You Keep All the Plates,
. . . er . . . Leaders, Spinning?

The challenge used to be keeping all the plates spinning.
Now the challenge seems to be keeping all the leaders spin-
ning. Spin drives our businesses and our lives. Spin means
putting the best face on a situation, stating facts or the sit-
uation in the best light possible—to get a date, to close a
deal, to gain support for a cause, to solicit money for char-
ity, to change a philosophical viewpoint.

16 The Voice of Authority