The modern era of transparency seems to have started with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. He had a dream of people sharing all kinds of information with each other and being completely open about their lives.
Maybe that’s a generalization. After all, we really don’t know that much about Mark Zuckerberg. But I would imagine that he’s pretty open and transparent with his friends and family. He seems to be open and honest when giving presentations and discussing things he cares about.
The world has really changed over the last decade or so. Facebook has been part of it, but since the ’90s or so we’ve really come into the Information Age. Never before in human history have we had access to as much information so quickly.
I was at The Masters a few weeks ago. They have a rule that you can’t bring your phone onto the course. We were walking around and when we had a question we’d reach for our pockets to do a quick Google search. It was weird not knowing the answer to something within a few clicks.
Privacy is still important in life, but we have to recognize the time that we live in. If we try to hide things we’ll often be disappointed because those things can come to light.
The idea of transparency has become more important than ever for businesses.
How Much Should We Share?
This is an important question for us today.
I don’t think there is a requirement to share every aspect of your life with others. You don’t need to do it on social media. But we do have the opportunity. There are some rewards for being completely transparent with those we’re close with. Being open and honest can lead to better relationships.
There is evidence that being more transparent leads to better relationships. Interestingly, it seems that when you’re being transparent as a way to improve your situation in life it’s important to be honest with yourself and who you are. When you know that you can be more transparent with those around you.
In the business world, it’s the same way. You need to be honest with who you are as a business. If there are things that you’re hiding, even from yourself, it’s good to address them and figure out if changes need to be made to move forward in a positive way.
Fraud Always Fails
When you do something illegal it’s not a matter of when it stops. It’s just a matter of if you’re the one to make the stop and move on or if the authorities make the decision for you. Either way, the fraud always comes to an end.
What does that have to do with transparency?
It’s about being honest with yourself about how your business is operating. If you’re lying to the public and to your employees and to your customers you’re committing fraud. Eventually it will come to light and come to an end. If it hasn’t happened yet you still have control over how it will come to light.
Now, obviously not every business is lying. I actually think that many businesses are pretty transparent with their customers and employees and others with vested interest.
The reason transparency is important is because it allows others to make good decisions. Usually when you’re transparent you’re able to improve what you’re doing and that will attract more people to your business.
This article talks about Thoughtful Transparency. That concept is about giving people the best information you can so that they can make decisions about how they should proceed with their lives.
When it comes to business, being thoughtfully transparent is giving consideration to those affected by what you’re doing. It’s about providing all the information you have that will give those invested in you the best opportunity to make a decision about working with you.
If there is a change necessary, it’s important to communicate the reason for the change. If something hasn’t worked it’s important to share all the information. You don’t need to know why it didn’t work out, but be honest about what happened and how you’re moving forward.
Final Thought
I guess the takeaway from this article is that being transparent is really about being considerate of others. If you’re hiding something to protect your own interests while hurting others then you’re not being transparent and that can lead to poor outcomes for those people and likely for yourself and your business.
However, if you’re open and honest about how you do business, how it works, who it can help and what you’re doing to improve you are transparent with yourself, your employees and your customers. It might seem vulnerable, but in reality you’ll become a better business because you’ll be honest with yourself. That will force you to improve and that will lead to you attracting more customers because you’ll not only be better, but they’ll have more information to make the best buying decision…buying from your company.
