Onestitatea n afaceri un experiment stoic

de Jacob Henricson

Onestitatea n afaceri. Surs foto aici.

ntr-o bun zi m-am decis s nu mai mint. Nu m n elege i gre it, nici nainte nu
eram un mare mincinos dar m-am decis ct pot eu mai bine - s nu mint deloc.
Mi-am autodefinit cteva cazuri limit, de exemplu, este acceptabil s evit sau s
ascund adevrul atunci cnd efectele ar fi pgubitoare pentru mine sau pentru
altcineva (cum mi st?), dar nu este acceptabil s spun o minciun n mod
direct, orict de mic ar fi ea.
Impulsul pentru aceast msur drastic a venit din dorin a mea de a duce o
via stoic. Am nceput recent, acum un an, cnd mi-a srit n ochi un simplu
citat din Epictet:
Oamenii nu sunt tulburai de lucruri ci de principiile i no iunile pe care i le fac
despre lucruri.
Asta m-a fcut s citesc mai muli autori antici clasici i c iva stoici
renascentiti cri ca Filosofia pentru via de Jules Evans. Dar mai ales,
pentru modelul de via oferit, am devorat Cugetrile filosofice ale unui pilot de
avion de vntoare de James B. Stockdale. James a fost dobort n timpul
rzboiului din Vietnam i a ndurat torturi timp de opt ani nainte de a se ntoarce
acas i de a fi aclamat ca un erou. nainte de a fi dobort el l citise pe Epictet i
ulterior a creditat filosofia stoic pentru rezisten a sa din acei ani. Una dintre
leciile pe care le-am nvat din aceast carte a fost c: sentimentul de vinov ie
era o prghie la ndemna torionarilor. Dac te sim eai vinovat i ei i ddeau
seama de asta, o foloseau pentru a extrage ceva de la tine. Aa cum a explicat
James:
Atunci ideea este s nu faci nimic ruinos, nimic nedemn de tine. Pentru c
dac faci ceva ruinos i eti ctui de pu in o persoan onorabil , te va chinui i

i va eroda voina. Acestea sunt realiti simple dar foarte adevrate, foarte
puternice i foarte importante.
Aps pe buton repede nainte i m ntorc la via a mea normal. T riesc n
Suedia unde am fcut carier n domeniul gestionrii securit ii i a riscului n
companii precum Ericsson i PwC. Am asistat la rbufniri de nervi n politica
corporativ la nivel nalt timp de mai bine de zece ani. Dei nu m aflam la
cheremul unor torionari, sunt unele asemnri. Am vzut oameni buni
pierzndu-i cumptul i simul moral pe msur ce urcau pantele alunecoase ce
duc n top. Am vzut oameni buni corup i de bani i putere pn ntr-acolo nct
nu mai puteau recunoate ce era n interesul propriu i ce era n interesul
semenilor si sau chiar nu mai puteau recunoa te ce era n interesul companiei
pentru care lucrau.
Ai crede c atunci cnd faci o mulime de bani i ai foarte mult putere devii mai
puin vulnerabil i mai independent. Din experien a mea, de obicei se ntmpl
exact opusul. Pe msur ce i cresc veniturile i prestigiul, ncepi s ai gusturi tot
mai scumpe. O cas mic nu mai este de ajuns. Vinul ieftin devine brusc de
nebut. Fr s-i dai seama devii dependent de un venit mult mai mare dect
acela pe care l-ai obine de la majoritatea locurilor de munc. Am auzit oameni
numind-o "colivia de aur". i dup cum arat studiile realizate printre al ii de
Daniel Kahneman, este mult mai dureros s renun i la o pozi ie privilegiat dect
este de plcut s o obii. Eti prins n capcan. Din nou, Epictet a exprimat acest
lucru cel mai bine:
i cine este stpnul tu? Oricine are autoritate asupra lucrului pe care e ti
nerbdtor s-l obii sau s-l evii.
Dintr-o dat eful, acionarii, clienii devin mai importan i dect persoanele cele
mai apropiate ie: soia, copiii, prinii. Ei vor trebui s a tepte la rnd pentru c
tu trebuie s-i mulumeti mai nti pe oamenii care i controleaz veniturile i
statutul social. Dar de ce ai vrut s fii n top, n primul rnd? Pentru mine i cred
c i pentru muli alii, imboldul a fost o combina ie ntre dorin a de a avea un loc
de munc stimulant i cea de a asigura un trai pentru familia mea. Dar dac a fi
fost ntrebat care este cel mai important lucru pentru mine, a fi rspuns c este
familia mea. Cred c cei mai muli oameni ar rspunde la fel.
Acest dependen te poate obliga s faci lucruri pe care mai degrab nu ai vrea
s le faci. Am vzut cu toii n mass-media exemple de directori de top care i-au
folosit puterea n mod greit pentru ctiguri personale. Dar chiar i mai jos n
ierarhie eti adesea presat s susii lucruri n care nu crezi. De exemplu, i se taie
bugetul la jumtate i n acelai timp se vrea de la tine s dai acelea i rezultate.
tii c asta va pune o presiune nejustificat asupra echipei tale i nu e ti de
acord. Deci ce-i de fcut? Cei mai muli manageri vor contesta decizia dar pu ini
sunt gata s-i susin obiecia cu aciuni concrete (cum ar fi s- i dea demisia) i
pn la urm se supun deciziei i o adopt ca pe o decizie proprie (deoarece

orice altceva ar fi inacceptabil n firea lucrurilor). Uneori se ajunge la situa ii

extreme, cnd cultura organizaiei este clcat n picioare. Cazul care mi vine
cel mai clar n minte este cazul Enron.
Cnd mini eti o parte a sistemului de care te plngi. Nu mai po i da vina pe
eful tu sau pe colegi pentru felul cum se termin lucrurile. Nu mai po i spune
c ai fost forat s o faci, deoarece nimeni nu te poate for a s faci nimic, i de
altfel, asta nu d niciodat bine n pres. Trebuie s trie ti cu propria ta vin i
asta te face susceptibil la presiuni n viitor.
Aadar, aici intervine operaiunea fr minciuni. M-am decis s o ncerc s vd
dac ar merge i dac ar schimba ceva. Ca rezumat al experimentului pot s
v spun c pe termen scurt mi-a fcut viaa mai complicat n msura n care
trebuie s m gndesc bine la rspunsurile pe care le dau. n loc s spun nu pot
s merg cu tine la cin n seara asta pentru c nu m simt bine, trebuie s explic
pe ndelete c simt nevoia s petrec ceva timp cu familia i copiii sau c nu m
simt n stare s o fac, i asta ntr-un mod politicos. Dar dup o scurt perioad,
s-a dovedit a fi o modalitate fantastic de a c tiga respectul celorlal i i de a
dormi bine noaptea. Nu trebuie s mai in socoteala la ce am zis i cui i nu mi-e
niciodat team c cineva m va prinde cu o minciun fie ea chiar inofensiv.
Adevratul test al regulii mele a fost atunci cnd mi-am dat demisia de la serviciu
dar mi s-a cerut s in asta secret timp de trei sptmni. Nu am putut s spun
asta nici mcar celor mai apropiai prieteni de la serviciu i a trebuit s recurg la
zmbete enigmatice cnd eram ntrebat despre planurile de viitor. A fost greu,
dar pn la urm m-am simit mai bine a a att pentru c mi-am inut cuvntul
ct i pentru c am spus adevrul (sau cel puin nu am min it).
i mai ales, am fost ntmpinat cu respect. Uneori am repezit lumea mai mult
dect o fceam nainte, dar n final, se pare c oamenii din jur m apreciaz mai
mult ca pe un om de cuvnt, nelegnd prin asta c chiar dac nu voi avea
ntotdeauna o opinie, atunci cnd am una, vor ti c este sincer i din suflet. i
asta m-a fcut s decid s fac experimentul permanent i s l recomand la toat
lumea.
i pentru a ncheia, un citat cules din Reddit; era scris sub form de graffiti pe o
cas abandonat:
Spune adevrul, chiar dac i tremur vocea.
Jacon Henricson, director executiv i asociat la Fronesis

Jacob Henricson este confereniar i consilier privind o serie de subiecte,

inclusiv managementul riscului, securitatea calculatoarelor, managementul
organizaiilor i gestionarea crizelor. De asemenea, Jacob este interesat de
stoicism, creterea copiilor i umor dar nu este n niciun caz expert n aceste
domenii.

https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2015/08/22/honesty-in-business-a-stoicexperiment-by-jacob-henricson/

Honesty in Business A Stoic Experiment

by Jacob Henricson

Honesty in Business. Sourced here.

One day I decided to stop lying. Dont get me wrong, Ive never been a big liar before in
my life, but I decided to to the best of my abilities not lie at all. I defined some
borderline case rules for myself, for example, it is ok to avoid or withhold the truth, when
the effects of telling it would be harmful for myself or someone else (do I look pretty in
this dress?), but not to tell a direct lie, however small.
The impetus for this drastic measure came out of my interest in leading a stoic life. I
started off recently, about a year ago, when my attention was caught by the simple
Epictetus quote:
Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form
concerning things.

That lead me to read many of the classics, and several stoic revival-books, such as
Jules Evans Philosophy for Life. Above all, for the example on hand, I devoured
Thoughts of a philosophic fighter pilot, by James B Stockdale. James was shot down
during the Vietnam war and endured torture for eight years before returning home a
celebrated hero. He had read Epictetus before being shot down and later credited stoic
philosophy for his endurance during those years. One lesson I took away from his book
was this: guilt was leverage for the torturers. If you were guilty and they knew it, they
would use that guilt to extract something from you. As James expressed it:
The point, then, is to do nothing shameful, nothing unworthy of yourself. Because if you
do, and you are in any way honorable, it will haunt you and corrode your will. These are
simple but very true, very powerful, very important facts.
Fast forward to my regular life. I live in Sweden and have made a career in security and
risk management in companies such as Ericsson and PwC. I have been in the huff and
puff of top level corporate politics for more than ten years. While not being under the
power of torturers, there are similarities. I have seen good people lose their footing and
morals as they climb the slippery slopes to the top. I have seen good people corrupted by
money and power to the point where they can no longer distinguish between their self
interest and those of their fellow humans or even the company they work for.
You would think that making a lot of money and having a lot of power makes you less
vulnerable and more independent. In my experience the exact opposite usually happens.
As your income and prestige grows, you develop more expensive tastes. A small house is
no longer enough. Wine at a low price suddenly becomes undrinkable. Before you know
it you have become dependent on an income which is much higher than what you would
get from most other jobs. Ive heard it called the golden cage. And as research from
among others Daniel Kahneman shows, it is much more painful to step down from a
privileged position than it is enjoyable to climb up. You are trapped. Epictetus again
expressed it best:
And who is your master? Whoever has authority over anything that youre anxious to
gain or avoid.
All of a sudden your boss, your shareholders, your customers become more important
than those closest to you: your spouse, your children, your parents. They will have to wait
in line because you have to please the people that control your income and your social
status. But why did you climb to the top in the first place? For me, and I think for many
others, it was a combination between having an exciting challenge at work, and providing
for my family. But if I was asked what was most important to me, I would say my family.
I think most people would.
That dependence can make you do things you rather wouldnt have. We have all seen
examples in media of top executives who have misused their power for personal gain.
But even lower down the chain you are often pressured to stand behind things you do not
believe in. For example, your budget is cut in half while you are still expected to deliver

the same result. You know that it will put unreasonable pressure on your staff and you do
not stand behind it. So what do you do? Most managers will challenge the decision, but
few are ready to back up their challenges with concrete action (such as resigning) and
will ultimately bow to the decision and embrace it as their own (because anything else
would be unacceptable in the hierarchy of things). Sometimes this goes to extremes,
when the corporate culture is broken. The case that most clearly comes to mind is Enron.
When you have lied, you are part of a system you deplore. You can no longer blame your
boss or your colleagues for the way things turn out. You cannot say that you were
forced to do it, because nobody can force you to do anything, and besides, that never
sounds very good in media. You have to live with your own guilt, and that makes you
more susceptible to future pressure.
So, here my no-lies-policy comes into play. I decided to try it out to see if it would
work and if it would change anything. As a summary of the experiment I can say that it
has made my life more cumbersome short term as I have to think through my answers
carefully. Instead of saying I cant join the dinner tonight because Im not feeling well,
I have to take the time to explain that I need some time with my wife and kids, or that I
simply do not feel up to it, in a friendly way. But by and by, it has proven to be a fantastic
way of getting respect and sleeping well at night. I do not have to keep track of what I
said to whom, and I am never afraid of being called out with a white lie.
The true test of my policy was when I resigned from my job, but was asked to keep it
secret for three weeks. I could not even tell my closest friends at work and had to resort
to enigmatic smiles when asked about future prospects. It was tough, but ultimately I felt
better having both kept my word and spoken the truth (or at least not lied).
And above all, Ive met with respect. Sometimes I have been more blunt to people than I
would have before, but in the end it seems that the people around me value me more as a
man of my word, meaning that I will not always have an opinion, but when I do, they
know that it is truthful, and straight from my heart. And that has made me decide to make
the experiment permanent, and recommend it to everybody else in the world.
To end: a quote I picked up from Reddit, it was written as grafitti on an abandoned house:
Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes
Jacob Henricson, CEO and Partner, Fronesis
Jacob Henricson is a speaker and advisor on a range of topics including risk
management, cybersecurity, organizations and crisis management. Jacob also tinkers
with stoicism, parenting and humor but is in no respect an expert in those areas.