I'm a big transparency guy and therefore really dislike doing business with people who have hidden agendas. Generally these types of people will keep information unnecessarily hidden from colleagues, customers, partners, employees and will, most likely, exhibit the same behaviors in their personal lives. While knowledge is power, it's only power if you share it and though there is risk in transparency, the rewards are great. Transparency is an essential element in all meaningful relationships, including business relationships.
So here is my list of the top 10 reasons why transparency is so important in all of your business relationships, followed by a true success story.
#10. People won't have to hold separate meetings after meeting with you to figure out what you said vs. what you really meant.
#9. Chances are your openness will spread to your possibly dysfunctional home life and you save a fortune by avoiding such things as divorce settlements.
#8. Your relationships with your employees will improve, improving productivity and leading to their commitment to a company they now understand and can better contribute to.
#7. Your colleagues' respect for you will increase.
#6. You will have more friends (more significantly - you will find out who your friends really are).
#5. You're going to feel better about yourself in the long-term knowing there are no secrets or strategies.
#4. Your competitors will really come to respect and fear the success you are attaining.
#3. People will just want to do business with you.
#2. You'll be recognized as a leader.
#1. You'll make a lot more money in the long run and feel a whole lot better about yourself!
Back in a 1996 issue of Fast Company, they reported on a company that strived to be open to everyone inside and outside their business. The article said, "Sensitive figures on store sales, team sales, profit margins, even salaries, are available to every person in every location. In fact, the company shares so much information so widely that the SEC has designated all 6,500 employees "insiders" for stock-trading purposes."
That company was Whole Foods, who now has almost 52,000 employees and has been voted by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to work for 12 years in a row.
Try transparency.
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