Be Brutally Honest with Everyone
When Jobs returned to Apple, the company was in disarray. They needed his help to get the company realigned with the image he built from the start. And Jobs knew that the root cause was their product lineup.
“The products suck! There’s no sex in them anymore!” Coworkers and employees will appreciate your honesty, even if it hurts. Jobs believed that this was what made the culture of Apple so different — it’s what helped them rise above their competitors. “We are brutally honest with each other, and anyone can tell me they think I am full of s**t and I can tell them the same,” he said. “That’s the ante for being in the room: You’ve got to be able to be super honest.”
Customers also value honesty now more than ever. For far too long they’ve been sold products that didn’t live up to their expectations, causing them to lose trust in companies. If you want to win over your customer base (or really anyone), be honest with them. They’ll appreciate your candidness and be more willing to support your cause if they know they’re not getting duped.