I truly wish that individuals would put in the effort to deceive me in a manner that is well-constructed and factually challenging to counter, as a lack of such effort truly frustrates me and reflects a significant disregard for respect.
I always aim to speak the truth (though, naturally, this may itself be untrue); at times, I might “bend” the truth of a situation through a unique interpretation crafted in such a way that only I in the vast universe could fully believe it. More frequently, I might steer someone away from those unpleasant, trivial, and insignificant truths (that I wish to keep hidden) by encouraging them to focus on the dazzling, shimmering, golden light of the fact I want them to see. Yet, I never outright lie …………………. it’s simply too risky.
Nonetheless, when I deliver messages that involve Position variable instructions (from my perspective, I’m instructing you to do it), I find that a bit of flourish, Corinthian embellishment, or decorative dissembling is entirely acceptable.
I remember attending a meeting some years back (encountering passive resistance from individuals opposed to a change that would assess their performance based on the actual work done rather than the cases taken, (I know…CRAZY). I turned to one of the other managers and said, “Quick, give me a rough estimate of the percentage imbalance in the current system, something impressive to present,” to which he hesitated before responding, “Oh, I don’t know, let’s say 28%.”
I still recall at that meeting, gazing out at a sea of disgruntled faces and proclaiming with complete sincerity and confidence, “Look, the current system has been statistically analyzed and shows an imbalance of 28%! I don’t just pull these figures from thin air, you know.”
