Certainly transparency can be at conflict with, for example, friendliness. We think that if we genuinely want to get each other closer to the truth, the open challenge is nothing but good-natured and designed to build deeper relationships, trust, understanding, and yes friendship. When challenging people, we need to ensure we are as respectful as possible. Have you seen the movie Interstellar?
Truth is essential for success. Radical transparency at Clearly Payments means an environment in which all employees are encouraged to participate in openness surrounding our work, decision-making, financials, hiring decisions, pricing strategies, weaknesses, results, and challenges. This will be difficult at times. We know it and we get it.
Exposing things, especially weaknesses, challenges, and failure, is difficult. The process of learning is difficult. And that is why I succeed. When we expose people to both the good and the bad, it gives all the information necessary to allow everyone to contribute to the best solution.
Radical transparency will help us maintain high standards. It keeps us all in check. It gives our customers and partners a deep understanding of how to work with Clearly Payments to maximize success and foster meaningful, lifelong relationships. Privacy Policy. In one stud y where all organizations used the same transparent messaging in response to a crisis, participants judged the companies that had a reputation for transparency as more trustworthy than those that had seemed less transparent.
True, some research has pointed out potential issues with transparency. In particular, work by Ethan Bernstein at Harvard Business School shows that when employees know the bosses are watching, they are less productive than when their work is more private. But in this case transparency takes a different meaning; when there is a sense that one is being monitored, we all tend to react negatively.
But as Dalio recognizes, not everybody is ready to commit to radical transparency. When transparency unveils our universal human biases, we are more likely to benefit as individuals. Our organizations will benefit as well. You have 1 free article s left this month.
You are reading your last free article for this month. Subscribe for unlimited access. Create an account to read 2 more. Giving feedback. Related Video. Read more on Giving feedback or related topics Transparency , Business communication and Corporate communications. As we highlighted in our recent special report on personal finance, lack of trust is a huge challenge for retail banks and a key reason that other non-finance players can play in this market space — because they have the trust of consumers.
Transparency is a key building block for trust and reputations, and will become increasingly important. Controlling illegal or malign information sharing: One question we asked ourselves at the very start of the recent Wikileaks campaign was: Can they be shut down? Clearly the answer is no — despite the best efforts of the US government, the Wikileaks organization has employed highly sophisticated technology as well as operating in multiple legal jurisdictions, which means for better or worse, the information leaks cannot be stopped, either technically or legally.
While this may be a positive in the case of free speech, it has significant downsides if the people making information made public have malign or illegal intentions. Consider for example someone who bears a grudge against another individual or a company — even if information released can be disproved, damage will still be done.
Also consider the implications of nameless communities who can rally and disappear at will, intent on negative forms of social activism.
Ensuring accountability: Extending the previous thought: How do we hold people, communities, companies, societies and governments accountable when information made transparent does damage whether reputational, financial or physical? The problem is what to do if it is wrong and the people responsible cannot be held accountable. From a window on the world, a vital source of communications and communities, many are evaluating the potential downsides of a world-wide web where information can never be suppressed, and where communities can turn on their makers.
Expect also to see governments such as the US and China tackling the paradox of cyber-security, as it becomes increasingly clear that this is a double-edged sword. Mobilizing internet communities and capabilities for security reasons will be a necessary part of future national and international defenses, but there are always risks that the hackers get hacked by their own communities. From governments to companies to individuals, it is clear we need to think through what living with radical transparency really means, as well as the appropriate balance between openness and confidentiality.
Trust and integrity will become increasingly important tools in the new age of cyber-relations, cyber-threats and infowars. Borrowing from and adding to Daniel Goleman, here are some thoughts on how companies can engage in this new world:.
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