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A question we’ve all heard before is, “Are there ever times when a lie is not a lie?” That’s not as easy to decide as it sounds. There are times when honesty can be a matter of degree. For example, telling a “white lie” or half-truth for the better good or protection of people, especially in life-threatening situations, or, for simply kind and compassionate reasons, is not necessarily wrong or a bad thing.

I’ve been in situations myself when I’ve had to stretch the truth a little. For example, I can remember complimenting a couple on how cute their son was when they were in my office. The truth was, he was a very ordinary and scruffy-looking kid. Sometimes common sense rules.

Stretching the truth is one thing; deceiving someone is an entirely different thing. Now you’re trying to cheat someone out of something that’s theirs—you’re stealing. I once heard a story about a woman who was visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy some years ago. She noticed a man handing a slip of paper to the tourists who parked their cars nearby. He asked for and received a sum of money from each driver. The tourists thought they were paying for parking. A woman, who spoke Italian, examined one of the pieces of paper and saw that the man was actually insuring the parked cars against damage in case the tower fell over. Even though it might have been legal, clearly this parasite was taking advantage of tourists who didn’t speak the language, and he knew it.

Any way you cut it, deception is still a lie, no matter how slick you package it. Deception has many faces.

One in particular is a bit shortsighted and not a very smart business approach, although very commonplace. Believe it or not, the idea of “padding” the price with a few extra bucks is an everyday practice in every retail business. The customer isn’t the only one trying to get the best deal. Right? Heed my advice here.

Instead of trying to squeeze every nickel you can out of a customer in one deal by cheating them out of a few bucks, why not take the high ground? Use your imagination and focus on the real opportunity on the horizon: try to squeeze every year of loyalty out of them for the repeat deals ahead. This is more than a matter of conscience. It’s good business sense. Think about it. You only have to sell them once. After that, it’s all about servicing them with care. Doesn’t this make more sense?

Whatever a customer’s experience is with you, that’s the impression they will communicate to everyone they know. This is a classic case of where Girard’s Law of 250 kicks into high gear. If you’ve been less than above board with them, especially on what they paid you for something, it could cost you a bunch of money. Your reputation is now on the hot seat, and that could take years to repair (if at all). If you’ve cheated them or just taken “food off their plate” when they weren’t looking, the world (your world) will know about it quickly! What do you want them to say about YOU? What don’t you understand here? Tell me that isn’t YOU.

By the way, I’m not talking about just what’s bad business judgment. I’m talking about the difference between what’s morally right and wrong. How would you like someone to nail you for a few extra bucks by inflating the price of a new flat screen TV you want to buy? How does it feel being in the other guy’s shoes for a change? Not such a good fit, is it? Remember the guy who sold me that land? Well, that’s exactly what you’d be doing to someone else.

Of all the dishonest things you can do to a customer, overcharging them—swindling them —ranks right up there with intentionally selling them a defective product. YOU’RE A LIAR AND A CHEAT! Why the hell would you do that to someone?

Every day we hear of people who continue to do this without giving it so much as a glance. Bernard Madoff, the biggest scam artist of all time, did it for 30 years! LYING FOR GREED will take your life down to the bottom faster than all the hard work you put into trying to get to the top.

Yes, it’s a matter of conscience and compassion. If you believe in the Bible, Luke is very clear on this point in the New Testament: “Whatever measure you deal out to others, it will be dealt to you in return.”

When I was in the Army back when I was 18, I could have exaggerated about an injury I received when I accidentally fell off the back of a troop transport truck and injured my lower back. For weeks the entire upper part of my body was taped up from my armpits to my waist. When the Army doctors interviewed me about the accident, I could have easily lied about never having an injury to my back before I joined the Army. But I told them the truth. I did have an injury to my back about three years earlier when I was practicing a dive and hit the diving board in our school’s pool. Had I decided to just keep quiet about that swimming pool accident, I probably would have gotten away with it and received a discharge along with a disability pension.

But I would have had to live with myself and my deceit for the rest of my life. Every 30 days, a check would arrive in my mailbox, and each time I opened that envelope, it would

speak to me in clear words, “Here’s your ‘30 pieces of silver,’ Girard.” My brief stay in the

Army ended with a medical discharge and, thankfully, without a pension. It was one of those times when getting nothing was better than getting something. But I did get something—a lifelong commitment to being truthful—and that’s priceless.

You’ll hear lots of reasons why telling the truth is the right thing to do. Some are obvious. It speaks well of your character and earns the respect of people around you. However, it might be the negative consequences of lying that provide the greatest motivation to tell the truth. A lie can easily cost you a promotion, money, or a friendship—maybe even create a dangerous situation for yourself. While it may be tempting to do it, you just don’t want to take the chance of being caught.

You’d think anyone of average intelligence would realize this and start telling the truth. Unfortunately for many, the temptation is too great. Instead, they become pros at lying. They learn to “perfect” their lies so convincingly that they appear to be the truth. They’ve thought about everything: how it sounds, how likely is it to have happened, and, of course, the bottom line—how believable it is. Half-truths begin to look like the whole truth. This is where deception becomes an art form.

Over the years, there have been some very high-profile cases in the corporate and financial world where deception is witnessed on a grand scale. Executives are caught red- handed lying under oath during grand jury investigations where misdeeds cost investors and hard-working people billions of dollars in lost jobs, pensions, and life savings.

The Dos and Don’ts of Truth

happens quite often. Many people will take the coward’s way out when they hear someone lying because they don’t like confrontation or might be afraid of losing their job. In other cases, they might see an instant opportunity for immediate personal gain.

For example, if the boss is handing out bonuses at the end of the year and accidentally calculates a slightly larger check for you by mistake, or gives you someone else’s, by saying nothing and accepting it, you have just met lying’s twin sister, cheating. My Army experience is another case where, had I not said anything to those doctors, that wouldn’t have meant that I wasn’t lying. Yes, silence can be a lie too. I had an obligation to “fill in the blanks” about what really happened. We’re all human and tempted from time to time to compromise the truth, even just a little, because it’s either convenient or we can gain from it personally. While I could give you many examples of things you should and shouldn’t do, I think you’re all intelligent enough to understand the obvious. Instead, I’d like to suggest a few guideposts that will keep you on the straight and narrow path of honesty.

Four Things You Should Do