Business people beware: lying is a Crime. The rules regarding lying in business are being vigorously enforced. In case after case, scandal after scandal, law enforcement officials have clearly shown that there is no confusion in their minds—lying is a crime.

In the US Martha Stewart was accused of selling stock allegedly after receiving insider information. However, she was not convicted of securities fraud. She was instead imprisoned for lying. American history is full of with cautionary tales about the importance of telling the truth. President George Washington is alleged to have said, “I cannot tell a lie,” about cutting down his father’s cherry tree, and even though this event may not have literally happened, it is a story often repeated.  

Lying is a crime because those who lie in a judicial proceeding are destroying the essential fabric of the “rule of law,” which has enabled capitalism to be so financially successful in such places as the United States. Lying is and must be a crime in a judicial proceeding—and must be enforced against everyone—whether he or she is the president of a Fortune 500 multinational organization, or the clerical assistant. The crime of lying must be viewed not only in terms of how it may have impacted a company and shareholders, but must also be viewed in light of the potential damage to the entire economy if lying were suddenly to be tolerated in our judicial proceedings.

After all, if it is okay for Martha Stewart to lie, then how can we complain about accountants who lie about a company’s financial audits, executives who lie about their company’s sales and revenues, or analysts who lie about their stock recommendations? What then makes us think that anyone will continue to invest their money in any stock market, which has been a driving force behind western capitalism?

In the long-run lying remains unprofitable for business and capitalism at large.

“A good plan implemented today is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow. “ - General George S. Patton, World War II Military Leader

When it comes to being a brilliant communicator I would take Patton’s idea even further by saying that speaking well now is better than speaking brilliantly later. What is important to any audience is that they understand their leader is with them now. If you have the courage to speak about the moment as it occurs to you and your audience, you take more positive territory than anyone who crafts a brilliant speech and delivers it just when the moment has passed.

Great communicators talk about what is happening to us all right this minute. Average communicators report on what happened to others yesterday. Breaking news, though always thin on detail and incisive commentary, is always far more compelling to us.

As much as possible always speak to an audience in the present tense.

Any company that understands how great communication is a key to profitability thinks about branding a great deal. “Brand Position”, I am told by expert brand counsellor Chris Ward of Riverhorse America, is simply the space we might occupy in a customer’s mind. We all know how much important space “green issues” currently occupy in our minds right now, and so clever businesses are making sure customers know how important the environment is for them.

For example: this webpage is using 25% less energy than most others – and soon it could be as much as 45%. It is powered by Netfirms who are committed to reducing their environmental footprint and that of their customers. Chris Ward tells me how we make up an image of a brand from the hundreds of little pieces of information that come to us day to day. So even this small square of communication on how important green issues are could have an important business impact.

Small and subtle gestures can have clear resonance and a high impact with the right audience.

Humans like animals are very sensitive to the smallest of signs or discrepancies in their environment because they could be warnings of potential dangers to come. Alertness and sensitivity are essential to survival. Being human, we make our way around a perilous social world, that being complex must be reacted to instinctively. We watch unconsciously every second for signs and react by giving out signals that help society function. The most socially attuned of us intuitively know what is afoot and can give out messages that can keep situations civil. Others can lose comprehension and accidently push deeper into trouble. The cleverest of us in society and business consciously provide the signs that reassure and build trust in the groups we lead. This behaviour is learned behaviour. No one is a born leader. Great leaders have experience of making mistakes and learning from them, along with watching and mirroring other great leaders around them.Great leadership is learned behaviour.

Question: I have been watching Barrack Obama’s Iowa Caucus Victory speech and want to ask you something: he uses the truth plane quite a lot, and also passion plane. But there is a curious mannerism several times. He drops his head down closer to the microphones and in so doing, the head is in the passion plane. Is this any sort of deliberate messaging or is he just reaching to speak louder and with bigger impact into the microphones? In doing this, is there and unintended but beneficial messaging to the primal brain of viewers and the audience?

Comment: Great observations! Here’s what I know: his movement forwards, though subtle, is certainly creating a marked tonal change for the audience due to reduced proximity to the microphone. This is underlining unconsciously his message at this point. The first time I see and hear it, it serves to stress his promise of a tax cut for working people.In general, moving your head down to the mic can create a sense of intimacy – both because of the tonal change and because you move you head more to the audience level and so status, rather like a bow. It simple creates a feeling of closeness to the audience.  Because Obama is a powerful speaker, I think by moving in closer to the mic now and again he counteracts any possibility that his audience could find him overbearing. He bows down to their status and creates intimacy.As a side observation on his content; I always find it interesting how politicians can seek election based on intangible, immeasurable, un-auditable and emotional concepts. In Obama’s case – HOPE. Remember whenever you may be writing a speech – people buy feelings and not things.

The word company derives from the Latin “a group who share bread together”. Isn’t it interesting that so many business deals are communicated over breakfast, lunch or dinner. Some say “a family that eats together – stays together” and yet, in many organisations, co-workers try to get as far away from each other as possible when they eat. Think about some of the great company moments you have shared together around food. Now think how the action of sharing food regularly might help build your company and profit more than any words.