Quotes About Transparency

I prefer for a boil to be out in the open where I can see it. When it's hiding down in a butt crack, it can be a real pain in the…you know.

How much I love every thing that is decided and open!

I want to tell you everything without saying anything." (118)

There's no fair swap for truth, son, not even with good intentions." -Jones

Perhaps it is in speaking of our falseness that we can be true.

The key line is "You're invisible now, you've got no secrets to conceal

Truth, of itself, does not kill.

Lies and partial truths complicate life."

even if ballots are not stuffed by the ruling party on the day of the election, a vote can be undemocratic if the opposition can never make its case properly and journalists are prevented from reporting a government's failures.

Those who have to use an API must be able to understand it.

Secrets staying secret is the norm. Officials only get riled up when the opposite happens—when secrets are leaked, published, disclosed.

People will respect you more if you are open, honest, public, and responsive during a crisis. Don't hide behind spin or try to keep your bad news on the down low. You

If you don't clearly communicate to everyone else why someone was let go, the people who remain at the company will come up with their own story to explain it.

It was the discomfort of knowing two people doing the same work at the same level were being paid differently that led us to reform how we set salaries. That's how we ended up throwing out individual negotiations and differences in pay, and going with a simpler system.

Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate. They make things easy to understand.

As a business owner, you should share everything you know too. This is anathema to most in the business world. Businesses are usually paranoid and secretive. They think they have proprietary this and competitive advantage that. Maybe a rare few do, but most don't. And those that don't should stop acting like those that do.

Don't shy away from the fact that your product or service does less. Highlight it. Be proud of it. Sell it as aggressively as competitors sell their extensive feature lists.

As a business owner, you should share everything you know too.

These companies have realized that when you get into a real work environment, the truth comes out.

It's also a lot harder to bullshit your peers than your boss. In talking to a project manager without tech chops, programmers can make a thirty-minute job sound like a week-long polar expedition, but if their tall tale is out in the open for other programmers to see, it won't pass the smell test.

So talk like you really talk. Reveal things that others are unwilling to discuss. Be upfront about your shortcomings. Show the latest version of what you're working on, even if you're not done yet. It's OK if it's not perfect. You might not seem as professional, but you will seem a lot more genuine.

You need an environment where everyone feels safe enough to be honest when things get tough. You need to know how far you can push someone. You need to know what people really mean when they say something. So hire slowly. It's the only way to avoid winding up at a cocktail party of strangers.

The message should come from the top. The highest-ranking person available should take control in a forceful way. Spread the message far and wide. Use whatever megaphone you have. Don't try to sweep it under the rug. "No comment" is not an option. Apologize the way a real person would and explain what happened in detail. Honestly be concerned about the fate of your customers—then prove it.

Third, show them work often. This is the best way to chip away at a client's natural situational anxiety. Look, they're paying you big bucks for your work, and it's totally natural for them to begin feeling anxious the moment they send you the deposit. So show them what they're paying for.