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What the Heck is a Chief Honesty Officer?
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What the heck is a “Chief Honesty Officer?”
That’s what I was wondering as I drove to the airport early one morning last week. I heard a commercial for a mortgage broker, and the speaker identified himself as the company’s “Chief Honesty Officer.”
Huh? A company needs one of those?
He promised that at his company, there would be no surprises – no baloney.
Well, that’s a relief!
No question honesty is a big deal in the beverage industry and all industries. To be sure, if you try hard enough, you can probably pull the wool over your customer’s eyes from time-to-time, but everyone gets caught sooner or later. Reminds me of my senior year in high school. I was taking a creative writing course, and the final paper was due. We were given time for independent work each class period.
We were supposed to go to the library.
I went to the weight room. Yep, met my friends there to pump some iron. Finally, just before the paper was due, I decided to get serious. I spend the last class period diligently and creatively writing.
The next day the teacher asked where I was the prior day.
Long story bearable, she had tried to find me and was unsuccessful. On the one day I actually did what I was supposed to, she was unable to locate me. I received a 55% on the paper – destroying my chances of going to Harvard… (Note: I had no chance of attending Harvard!)
Anyway, I was able to pull the wool over the teacher’s eyes, for a while, but I was caught in the end. I probably got what I deserved.
Honesty is essential in business for the following reasons:
· Your customer wants to trust you so he or she can believe what you told him or her is true.
· Your customer wants to trust you because he or she has most likely confided in you and wants the specifics of his or her business kept confidential.
· Your customer wants to trust you because he or she has most likely asked you to do something and is counting on you.
· Your customer wants to trust you because he or she wants help determining what is in his or her best interest.
· Your customer wants to trust you because you have given your word and he or she wants to think that your word is your bond.
According to renowned expert, Fred Reichheld, author of many books and articles on the subject of customer loyalty, “Without trust, there can be no loyalty, and without loyalty, there can be no growth.” The simple truth is that trust means confidence. When your customers trust you, it means that they have confidence in you. It means that when you make claims during the selling process, they are inclined to believe you and that, my friends, is what it is all about.
And we don’t need a Chief Honesty Officer to tell us that.
