Quotes About Honesty

The trouble with a secret life is that it is very frequently a secret from the person who lives it and not at all a secret for the people he encounters.

And they would not believe me precisely because they knew what I said was true.

consider that I have many responsibilities, but none greater than this: to last, as Hemingway says, and get my work done. I want to be an honest man and a good writer.

But I knew , she said, I knew. This is what makes me so ashamed. I knew it every time you looked at me. I knew it every time we went to bed. If only you had told me the truth then. Don't you see how unjust it was to wait for me to find it out? To put all the burden on me ? I had the right to expect to hear from you?women are always waiting for the man to speak. Or hadn't you heard?

I consider that I have many responsibilities, but none greater than this: to last, as Hemingway says, and get my work done. I want to be an honest man and a good writer.

the past will remain horrible for exactly as long as we refuse to assess it honestly.

Artists are the only people in a society who will tell that society the truth about itself.

But you can make your time together anything but dirty, you can give each other something which will make both of you better—forever—if you will not be ashamed, if you will only not play it safe.

I mean, I think you've got to be truthful about the life you have. Otherwise, there's no possibility of achieving the life you want.

it was a deeper, deadlier, and more subtle hypocrisy than that, and a little honest sensuality, or a lot, would have been like water in an extremely bitter desert.

Because even if I should speak, no one would believe me. And they would not believe me precisely because they would know that what I said was true.

they ain't never met nobody they didn't lie to and steal from.

I think you've got to be truthful about the life you have. Otherwise, there's no possibility of achieving the life you want.

I do not think you have ever lied to me but I know that you have never told me the truth—why?

Put objective, honest outsiders on your board of directors.

You don't get a chance to adjust and finagle, and decide that you really didn't intend to do that anyway, and readjust your objectives to make yourself look better. You never just focus on what you've accomplished for the year; you focus on what you've accomplished relative to exactly what you said you were going to accomplish—no matter how tough the measure. That was a discipline learned at Abbott, and that we carried into Amgen.3

Level 5 leaders confront the brutal facts before they set vision and strategy, and they create a climate where the truth is heard. Failure to confront the brutal facts is a precursor to catastrophic decline, always.

Whatever style you use, be up front about it. Pretending to be participative or consensus-oriented in an effort to get "buy-in" to a decision that you've already made is terribly destructive. If you practice this type of deception, people will see it, be unimpressed, and feel manipulated. Such deception creates cynicism and lack of genuine commitment. If you're going to be autocratic, then just be honest about it.

You absolutely cannot make a series of good decisions without first confronting the brutal facts.

Merck • Corporate social responsibility • Unequivocal excellence in all aspects of the company • Science-based innovation • Honesty and integrity • Profit, but profit from work that benefits humanity Nordstrom

The British. We have proved beyond all doubt we're to be trusted, we can govern, and, by and large, our bureaucracy's incorruptible.

There are three things that are difficult to keep hidden: a fire, a cold, and love.   —Polish Proverb

A liar can go around the world, but can never come back.

There's a trick to lying. Hold to the same line, regardless of who you're with.