Networking 101 - Honesty is the Best Policy

Networking 101 - Honesty is the best Policy

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC. July 2010

We’ve all heard (and indeed should know), that honesty is the best policy and yet how often do we not even think of that when we go about our daily business?  When we celebrate our ‘little’ victory over the taxman or we deny that we were speeding when we know that we most certainly were – do we think about honesty being the best policy then? Yet I have no doubt that we all consider ourselves ‘honest’ individuals.

What about when we attend Networking events or meetings – do we impart the truth about who we are, what we do and how we deliver – or do we embellish the truth?  A few little white lies won’t hurt anyone – right?  Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Truth is that you will probably get away with it the first time – often even the second and third time too, but at some point the house of  cards will come crashing down and all the lies that you have told and all the people you have cheated or misled or let down will be looking at you and holding you accountable, often publically and most certainly privately.  Don’t forget the ‘word of mouth’ thing either where you will be tried, judged and sentenced, without you even being present.

The world is not such a big place anymore!  The internet, e-mails, facebook and more specifically ‘twitter’ have made it very, very small and it has made you, the individual, extremely visible.

So when you are Networking, be it at an event, or individually, make sure that the words that come out of your mouth are truthful, that you are who you say you are and that you can do what you say you can do and that you deliver on time.

Yes indeed – honesty is the best policy – your business will depend on it!

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za  or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za