To Be Honest

Piggybacking from the previous post, one of the most refreshing things to me is when someone is transparent. For someone to say what’s on their mind, to not hold back when asked for feedback, and to just tell it like it is seems to be an endangered quality in people today. It used to be that the truth was expected in most situations, but we seem to have shifted away from that. It is concerning because this is reflected across multiple parts of everyday life, from the illusions seen in almost every humblebrag post on social media to not being able to look at yourself in the mirror to see who you really are as a person. This can be deadly even for VCs and founders alike.

There are many reasons why it is easier to lie than to tell the truth. To not hurt someone’s feelings. To gain a competitive edge. To avoid the consequences. In most cases, I would argue against lying in any of those situations. For instance, let’s say someone were to ask you your opinion on what they were wearing or whether they should do x, y, or z. Most of the time, they are not looking for guidance as much as they are looking for reassurance. If you tell them what they want to hear, and it 1) isn’t your true opinion or 2) is something that could set them back in some way, then you aren’t really helping them. In fact, you’re in danger of setting them up for failure or embarrassment. Always tell the truth in situations like this. People may hate you for it at first, but they’ll eventually come around. Plus, it’s not your responsibility for how they react.

In the startup world, lies can aggregate quickly and snowball easily. The biggest example comes from Theranos, the blood-testing company that was supposed to revolutionize the way consumers can get a hold of their medical information. Essentially, rather than Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and then-CEO, explaining to investors and shareholders that the technology was not yet ready, she created a workaround to paint a Wizard of Oz picture. This is all came crashing down eventually and resulted in absolute catastrophe for nearly everyone involved. The documentary and the book paint chilling recounts of that experience, which only further supplants the notion that lying can take you nowhere but down.

Now this isn’t to say you should tell the truth 100% of the time. There are small exceptions, such as kids asking about Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. That’s more of a rite of passage. But when the situation is much more dire or fragile, it never benefits anybody in the long term when a lie is told. You may get away with in the beginning, but it will almost always come around and get you in the end. Not only does it potentially damage your integrity, but trust is also broken, which can be one of the hardest things to piece back together.

Telling the truth means not having to keep up with the details of the lie. Telling the truth also means it’s not your job to console people or make them feel better. They’ll hate you at first, but you can sleep at night knowing you put authenticity first before anything else.