The one-sentence summary
Treat information with great suspicion until you know the real story.
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WHAT THE BOOK SAYS
- Eighty per cent of companies think that they are fraud free, but a recent survey actually revealed fraud in forty five per cent of them
- There are seven degrees of deceit:
- White lie: told to make someone feel better or to avoid embarrassment
- Fib: relatively insignificant, such as excuses and exaggerations
- Blatant: whoppers used when covering up mistakes or apportioning blame
- Bullshit: a mixture of those above combined with spin and bluff to give the best impression
- Political: similar to bullshit but with much bigger scale and profile
- Criminal: illegal acts from fraud to murder, and their subsequent denial
- Ultimate: so large that it must be true. As Joseph Goebbels said: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it”
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT
- It confirms what we all suspect – that the workplace constantly bombards us with lies, fakery and spin
- Case histories of Enron, Boo.com, the European Union and others provide the proof on a grand scale
- Deconstructions of other levels of lying help the reader to navigate their way through the day-to-day types. You can then decide how to react.
- It has tips on how to suck up to the boss, pass the buck and endure meetings
- Everybody should read the chapter on Lies and Leadership
- “The truth is more important than the facts.” Frank Lloyd Wright
- “Those that think it is permissible to tell white lies soon grow colour blind.” Austin O’Malley
- “Honesty may be the best policy, but it’s important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.” George Carlin
WHAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH
- The book essentially condemns most corporate cultures and so needs to be viewed lightly by those who have to work in them
- There is a moral dilemma lurking within: do you tell the truth and get trod on, or join the liars?