"I Want the Truth!"

Lieutenant Kaffee (Tom Cruise) bellows, “I want the truth,” and Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson) bellows back, “You can’t handle the truth!”   Those two lines probably single-handedly put the movie “A Few Good Men” into blockbuster territory.  Frequently, our clients say to us (sans the bellow … most of the time) that they want the “truth” and sometimes they actually can handle it.
 
Now substitute the word “facts” for “truth”. Whether you own an agency, all by your lonesome or have partners, how you individually or collectively handle the truth/facts is a fairly strong indicator of success.   We happen to believe how aggressively you pursue the truth/facts is an even stronger indicator of success. 

Your people need to know that you want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 

We suspect you would agree that the truth can be pretty elusive.  In the business world practical types like you and me know that the “truth” is like beauty – it’s in the eye of the beholder.  That is because data (aka truth, facts) are frequently manipulated to support a hidden agenda or a poor decision.

Most businesses include integrity in their list of values, and typically the staff will interpret that to mean “thou shall not steal”.   Stealing is bad, but frankly your biggest risk isn’t people stealing … it’s people avoiding the truth.  Let your staff know how desperately you want to hear the truth.   And to build this into your culture, you need to allow people to make mistakes.   They will, you will.   And don’t we all know that old song “the cover up is often worse than the crime”? 

In business the truth is really getting the facts straight or identifying the real problem.

Nobody can control the economy, or the whim of a client, an underwriter, or an employee. And heck, s_ _ _ happens, so when it does, pursue the truth.  Once you have the truth, solving the problem is so much easier.

If you want a great agency (growing and profitable), if you want a great perpetuation plan, or if you want to make great acquisitions, make sure you (and your staff) know that when you bellow  “I want the truth”  that it is ok to give you the truth … because they know you can handle it. - TDM