Errors, Lies, and Values
#error #lying
In September of 2006, I found myself sitting in the waiting room of my local Volvo shop, (im)patiently waiting for my car to be fixed. The repair job was supposed to take only about an hour, so I had decided to wait right there.
Scanning through the magazines, I had found out that all of them were sports magazines, presenting articles about football, basketball, and golf. I don’t follow any of these sports (unfortunately, none of these magazines features articles about boxing, soccer, or alpine skiing).
Luckily, a gentleman, who seemed to be equally discontent with waiting, put down the magazine he had been reading and went outside to make a cell phone call. I checked out his magazine. It was one of the glorious magazines that focus mainly on the latest and/or soon to be available gizmos. One of the articles elaborated about new types of cell phones.
I got to read that a company named Research in Motion (RIMM) was going to come out with a totally new cell phone called Blackberry. It was going to be the ‘phone of the future’. The article also featured a picture. The phone looked very, very sleek. I lifted my head and looked at the gentleman outside. He was still talking on his cell phone. In fact, he seemed to get more animated by the minute. A saying popped up in my brain, “Guys love their gizmos.” My brain went into overdrive.
Twenty minutes later, my car was fixed. I quickly drove home, and checked out RIMM. The company’s stock was listed at around $32. I called my broker.
“Wilma,” I said, “I want you to buy 30 stocks of these RIMMs.”
“Gisela, I would not recommend that,” said Wilma. “This is not a sound investment; it is probably a fad at best.”
“Wilma,” I said. “All of us love cell phones.”
“Gisela, I have other suggestions… Why don’t you come to my office and we’ll talk about it.”
“Wilma, this is my account. I want you to buy 30 RIMMs!”
About a year later, in October 2007, I sold my 30 stocks at more than $110 a piece. Even when I asked Wilma to sell, she never made the slightest reference to our debate before I bought these stocks. That was fine with me. Looking back, I felt lucky that I had to wait at this car shop.
Towards the end of the year 2007, I sensed something strange happening. Working in the construction industry, I could see that things just weren't going right. My company was laying off people, good people. The trend did not look good… I was wondering when my turn would come. I began to read job ads.
Eventually, I spotted an ad looking for a broker's assistant at – Wilma’s company. I put my resume together and called Wilma. Could I use her for a reference? After all, we had known each other for three years.
“Gisela,” Wilma exclaimed enthusiastically, “that job opening is at my office.”I did not know that. The ad had simply stated ‘looking for… xyz… in New Hanover County, NC.’“Of course, you can list me as a reference. I’ll keep an eye on your application.”That sounded terrific. I felt relieved.
One month later, I called Wilma. Were there any news regarding the job opening?“Nothing yet,” she said. “But, don’t worry, this process always takes time.”She sounded confident and I felt more confident. Obviously, Wilma really kept an eye on my application.
The day after my phone rang. It was Wilma.
“Wilma, how wonderful that you call me… Did I get an interview?”
“No, dear, that’s not why I was calling you. I wanted to invite you to an event on short notice…”
The timing of this event did not really fit into my calendar but considering that Wilma was kind enough to keep an eye on my application, I decided to make time. I attended, wearing an elegant suit, looking like the perfect broker's assistant. And, there was Wilma – introducing her new assistant – the day after she had told me that there were ‘no news yet’ regarding the job opening.
I said nothing and began to slowly withdraw my money.
Was I going to have my money with an account manager who was a liar? Certainly not! All of us have values. I had not been peeved that Wilma did not recognize the opportunity with RIMM. Surely, she was trying to give me the best advice she could when she advised me not to buy stock from a company whose major product was a gizmo. Yes, she had been wrong and I had been right with my guess. But, all of us make mistakes, and it could have been the other way around.
However, when it comes to values, we cannot look away. There was absolutely no way that Wilma did not know that either she or her company had hired somebody else for the position I had applied. There had to have been interviews, background checks, a drug test, all of which takes time… In other words, Wilma had to have known and she lied. It was that simple.
The funny thing was she could have wiggled herself out of this situation. She could have said, “Gisela, unfortunately, the company preferred somebody else.” But people who lie (maybe even lie notoriously) don’t think about these options. They are so used to lying that it is their first reaction, without thinking. They are so settled in their ways they won’t even contemplate what they have to do to not get caught.
Errors are errors; most often they are forgivable.
Little white lies can be good sometimes. (It would not do any good if I told my ninety-year old grandmother that the ring my grandfather bought her fifty years ago is no longer fashionable.)
Above all – values are values, which may include telling my grandmother that grandpa’s ring looks even better than it was fifty years ago.
However, blatant and unethical lies are inexcusable. The greater the lie, the more damage it will cause, like Watergate, Lincoln Savings & Loan, Enron and too many others.
(Names have been changed to protect the privacy of characters.)
~*~
In September of 2006, I found myself sitting in the waiting room of my local Volvo shop, (im)patiently waiting for my car to be fixed. The repair job was supposed to take only about an hour, so I had decided to wait right there.
Scanning through the magazines, I had found out that all of them were sports magazines, presenting articles about football, basketball, and golf. I don’t follow any of these sports (unfortunately, none of these magazines features articles about boxing, soccer, or alpine skiing).
Luckily, a gentleman, who seemed to be equally discontent with waiting, put down the magazine he had been reading and went outside to make a cell phone call. I checked out his magazine. It was one of the glorious magazines that focus mainly on the latest and/or soon to be available gizmos. One of the articles elaborated about new types of cell phones.
I got to read that a company named Research in Motion (RIMM) was going to come out with a totally new cell phone called Blackberry. It was going to be the ‘phone of the future’. The article also featured a picture. The phone looked very, very sleek. I lifted my head and looked at the gentleman outside. He was still talking on his cell phone. In fact, he seemed to get more animated by the minute. A saying popped up in my brain, “Guys love their gizmos.” My brain went into overdrive.
Twenty minutes later, my car was fixed. I quickly drove home, and checked out RIMM. The company’s stock was listed at around $32. I called my broker.
“Wilma,” I said, “I want you to buy 30 stocks of these RIMMs.”
“Gisela, I would not recommend that,” said Wilma. “This is not a sound investment; it is probably a fad at best.”
“Wilma,” I said. “All of us love cell phones.”
“Gisela, I have other suggestions… Why don’t you come to my office and we’ll talk about it.”
“Wilma, this is my account. I want you to buy 30 RIMMs!”
About a year later, in October 2007, I sold my 30 stocks at more than $110 a piece. Even when I asked Wilma to sell, she never made the slightest reference to our debate before I bought these stocks. That was fine with me. Looking back, I felt lucky that I had to wait at this car shop.
Towards the end of the year 2007, I sensed something strange happening. Working in the construction industry, I could see that things just weren't going right. My company was laying off people, good people. The trend did not look good… I was wondering when my turn would come. I began to read job ads.
Eventually, I spotted an ad looking for a broker's assistant at – Wilma’s company. I put my resume together and called Wilma. Could I use her for a reference? After all, we had known each other for three years.
“Gisela,” Wilma exclaimed enthusiastically, “that job opening is at my office.”I did not know that. The ad had simply stated ‘looking for… xyz… in New Hanover County, NC.’“Of course, you can list me as a reference. I’ll keep an eye on your application.”That sounded terrific. I felt relieved.
One month later, I called Wilma. Were there any news regarding the job opening?“Nothing yet,” she said. “But, don’t worry, this process always takes time.”She sounded confident and I felt more confident. Obviously, Wilma really kept an eye on my application.
The day after my phone rang. It was Wilma.
“Wilma, how wonderful that you call me… Did I get an interview?”
“No, dear, that’s not why I was calling you. I wanted to invite you to an event on short notice…”
The timing of this event did not really fit into my calendar but considering that Wilma was kind enough to keep an eye on my application, I decided to make time. I attended, wearing an elegant suit, looking like the perfect broker's assistant. And, there was Wilma – introducing her new assistant – the day after she had told me that there were ‘no news yet’ regarding the job opening.
I said nothing and began to slowly withdraw my money.
Was I going to have my money with an account manager who was a liar? Certainly not! All of us have values. I had not been peeved that Wilma did not recognize the opportunity with RIMM. Surely, she was trying to give me the best advice she could when she advised me not to buy stock from a company whose major product was a gizmo. Yes, she had been wrong and I had been right with my guess. But, all of us make mistakes, and it could have been the other way around.
However, when it comes to values, we cannot look away. There was absolutely no way that Wilma did not know that either she or her company had hired somebody else for the position I had applied. There had to have been interviews, background checks, a drug test, all of which takes time… In other words, Wilma had to have known and she lied. It was that simple.
The funny thing was she could have wiggled herself out of this situation. She could have said, “Gisela, unfortunately, the company preferred somebody else.” But people who lie (maybe even lie notoriously) don’t think about these options. They are so used to lying that it is their first reaction, without thinking. They are so settled in their ways they won’t even contemplate what they have to do to not get caught.
Errors are errors; most often they are forgivable.
Little white lies can be good sometimes. (It would not do any good if I told my ninety-year old grandmother that the ring my grandfather bought her fifty years ago is no longer fashionable.)
Above all – values are values, which may include telling my grandmother that grandpa’s ring looks even better than it was fifty years ago.
However, blatant and unethical lies are inexcusable. The greater the lie, the more damage it will cause, like Watergate, Lincoln Savings & Loan, Enron and too many others.
(Names have been changed to protect the privacy of characters.)
~*~
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