Sample Bi-Monthly Combat Journal Newsletter!

LIAR! LIAR! The cornerstone of any relationship is honesty--be it personal or business. Without it, the relationship is susceptible to deception, manipulation, or any number of dishonesty related "disease." The relationship is doomed if dishonesty is allowed in its path. Dishonesty saps your energy. In fact, it can sap not only your personal energy, but the energy of an entire company. It can derail a company's focus resulting in gossip, chatter and an overall feeling of victimization. It steals your time; your employees' time, and time is money. You must learn to discern the true intentions of those you've entrusted with decision making powers. If you don't, the price you pay emotionally and economically will be high. It may be argued that the type of dishonesty that breeds theft and fraud is, "Just part of doing business" or, "It's the risk you take." However, you are in control of just how big or small that "part" or "risk" is, or becomes, over time. The intention "LIAR" will be focused on learning how to recognize and respond emotionally, intellectually and possibly even legally, to dishonesty. This includes lying, manipulation and deception. Call it a game or a war, but you must win. You cannot come in second place! The stakes are just too high. Keep in mind how hard you have worked to get where you are today and how easy it is for even one dishonest employee to take it all away. Don't think it can happen? Forget about Enron and Worldcom (or at least put it aside) and bring it to another level. Bring it to the smaller business environment. A thief is a thief! 60% of business failures are directly tied to internal employee dishonesty. 75% of employees have admitted to stealing from their company. 30% of employees steal from their company on a regular basis. Let's do the math: 1. Take the total number of employees that work for your company = ______ 2. Multiply that number by 30% = ______ 3. Take that number and multiply it by $3,500 = $ ______ The figure in number '3' is based on the lower PROVEN dollar amount that the average dishonest employee will steal each year. The range is $3,500 to $4,500; however we've used the lower amount which should drive the point home. This is cash. The thief pays no tax on this FREE money. Hopefully, this is enough to tick you off and motivate you to take employee dishonesty a bit more serious. Did you know it is a fact that your honest employees who get ticked off about their coworkers' dishonest behavior will leave your company without telling you about what they have witnessed? This leaves them to continue their dishonest behavior which eats away at the moral and economic fabric of your company. "How many legs would a sheep have if you called its tail a leg? Four! Calling its tail a leg doesn't make it one." – Abe Lincoln What does make a lie successful? First, someone has to tell the lie. Second, someone has to believe it. The only part you have any control over is the "believing" part. You have absolutely no control over another person's will to lie. The most dangerous and damaging lie is when you lie to yourself. You see all the warning signs, yet you refuse to believe. You must eliminate these blocks or inhibitors so you can clearly see the intent of others who are manipulative and, well, liars. "I'm so broke I can't even PAY ATTENTION!" Have you heard anyone ever say that? Maybe that is why they are broke--hmmm? Let's take a closer look at paying attention. To pay = to give, to provide a wage, to invest, to shell out, to compensate. Attention = notice, concentration, thought, awareness, consideration, interest. So what happens when you don't "PAY ATTENTION?" You lose. It 'pays' to pay attention, but it costs not to pay attention. Why don't you pay attention? Too busy; too trusting; too focused on other things; too clueless perhaps? Q: What is the opposite of paying attention? A: Receiving inattention. In other words, you sow what you reap. You receive the reward of inattention which is carelessness, negligence, distraction. All of these inattentive attributes create a perfect environment for dishonesty to occur. In fact, this is fertile ground for dishonesty to grow and flourish. In upcoming articles, we will continue this series with more about lying. In the meantime, think about what was just revealed in this segment. Apply it immediately. There is no reason to wait. You don't have to get in shape for this. No push-ups; no sit-ups; no special diets--just do what you are already in shape to do--Think! Does this stuff work? Here's a real life situation that occurred this week, actually only a day before writing this article. A friend of mine called me with a problem involving a young man stealing from other students. My friend owns several successful karate studios. One of the students was suspected of stealing money and other articles from fellow students. My friend called and told me that they had confronted this young man on several occasions and each time the suspect denied having done anything wrong. I asked him the following questions: "Who is doing the questioning?" "What types of questions are being asked?" "Where is the interview taking place?" "How many people are in the room while the questioning is taking place?" "Who are the people in the room?" (e.g., relatives, friends) I provided my friend a few tips about lying and deception. I also provided him some insight into why he is running into resistance when confronting and questioning this young man--for the third time. After less than 5 minutes of "tutoring" he once again confronted the young man and with his new insight and understanding he had an "admission" in less than 10 minutes! An admission that included ALL the other thefts he had earlier vehemently denied committing! Understanding why people lie goes a long way in unraveling the deception. In this case this knowledge allowed the owner to see the true intent of the suspect. It allowed him to focus on more than the words of the suspect. In the end, the suspect also understood the importance of being honest--not dishonest. Sign up for your Free Combat Journal today!