Why Honesty is the Most Important Intangible in Your Success


Honesty and integrity are by far the most important assets of an entrepreneur.
– Zig Ziglar

Have you ever noticed that being honest to others seems like a no-brainer, but we can justify being dishonest with ourselves without hesitation?  Honest about your knowledge of a certain subject, realistic about your competency with a particular job, or transparent enough to admit your mistakes.

Being honest exposes ourselves to the reality of what is going on around us.  It’s where the phrase “calling it like it is” comes from, and those who can be real with themselves and their business on a daily basis are bound for success. 

Here are some examples of why transparency is so valuable:

Develop Accountability

First and foremost, being honest with yourself and your business will develop personal accountability.  Personal accountability is the intangible you need to build your business from the inside out: if you pull all the strings of your business, then you have all the power to make it succeed. 

Zig Ziglar said, “You must manage yourself before you can lead someone else.” 

It strikes at the heart of what transparency brings to the table for your business.  Once you develop accountability within yourself you can begin encouraging the same standard in others.  Soon enough, your team will be full of honest and hard-working employees who call it like it is. 

You Learn About Yourself

Another great attribute of transparency is that you can learn how you react in stressful situations, when the chips are down and someone needs to take accountability.  Is it going to be you?  Maybe it should be in certain situations, but it could also be someone else who needs to step forward. 

Being open and honest makes it easier for you to see where things went wrong, and furthermore, what you can do to prevent it from happening again.  It also helps you get an idea of how much actual work it takes to execute a given project.

What about when things are going well? 

Success should be greeted with the same kind of ruthless honesty at play when times are tough.  A successful sales campaign deserves plenty of a rewards, congratulations, and analysis.  Part of being transparent is acknowledging the success of others, giving them the plaudits they deserve, and learning from others. 

All too often businesses see accountability as a way to explain away their mistakes.  It should be the other way around.  A culture of accountability within your business will strengthen teamwork, and teams need to stick together in the good times and the bad.

Gives You a Chance to Improve

Nothing helps you with personal self-development as much as making mistakes.  Everyone makes them, but it’s those who can learn from them that flourish in the world of business.  When you are honest about what you did (or did not) do, you have just taught yourself how to avoid making the same mistake in the future. 

It might be hiring someone without calling all of their references, or giving someone more responsibility because you don’t have the time.  If these decisions lead to problems down the road, at least you can rectify them and strengthen your operating procedure going forward.

Psychological Growth Will Produce Business Success

A lot of people start out in the business world with some naivety.  They may think they have what it takes to make a million in the first year of their business – but does it happen?  Usually not.

A vast majority of success stories come from people that have failed over and over again before finding a niche that works for them and succeeding.  Do these success stories look back in anger on their failed business ventures?  Absolutely not. 

Ask anyone in business about the trials and tribulations they faced in the early days and they will say it was the adversity they needed to learn about themselves and develop the character required to make a business that succeeds in the long-term.

What Makes A Great Leader?

When talking about business leadership, many different characteristics come to mind.  A leader can be silent and put the focus on doing rather than showing.  A leader can also be assertive and full of excitement and gusto, relaying their energy and enthusiasm to their team to push them forward.  These are the two poles of leadership characteristics, and in most cases, business leaders display a little bit of both depending on the situation or context.

Then you have leadership styles. Wisetoast has put together a list of 12 common leadership styles among business leaders today.  These styles each take a different focus, whether it’s:

  • Autocratic
  • Democratic
  • Strategic
  • Transformational
  • Team-Oriented
  • Cross-Cultural
  • Facilitative
  • Laissez-faire
  • Transactional
  • Coaching
  • Charismatic
  • Visionary

That’s a lot of style jammed into a single list.  Do you resonate with a few of the types above?

The truth is, humans are fluid.  We do not just fit into a specific box or “type”.  Someone can be an autocratic leader one week and a democratic leader the next.  We each have distinct personality traits from our character as adults.  In order to harness great leadership then, the focus should be less on style and more on personal attributes. 

Here are 5 attributes of great leadership that you can nurture no matter what personality type you are: 

  • Flexibility.  Being able to adjust plans and schedules without getting flustered is an important skill.  It takes composure and a realization that you can only control a small fraction of things in your vicinity – the rest is up to others, whom you have to trust.
  • Strong Communication.  Always being clear and remaining in touch with your team is important.  It can be a simple “hi, how are you?” or a detailed email about a new project.  Whatever the content, the motive remains the same, and that’s the key.
  • Courage.  Being able to overcome obstacles and remain confident is a requirement of great leadership.
  • Humility.  Appreciating the fragility of life and your place within it will help you make choices for the group, rather than for yourself.  A humble person is also able to admit mistakes. 
  • Organized and Responsible.  A leader must be on top of all responsibilities and organize people throughout all stages of a project. 

Contrary to what some people say, leadership is not something a few people are born with and the rest of us are out to lunch.  Hard work and vision are the key to becoming a great leader. 

Find a way to center your business culture around models of great leadership, and cultivate and environment that induces employees to take on more responsibility.  With responsibility comes accountability, and learning how to be accountable is step 1 on the road to great leadership. 


Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t build a business – you build people – and then people build the business.”

It all starts at the top.  As a leader within your business, it’s on your shoulders to set the tone and be a great leader for the team by focusing on these attributes and how you can educate, equip, and empower your team to build your business. 

Understanding ‘Big Data’ and How it Can Help Your Business

If you’re like me, the term ‘big data’ sounds like a catch-all phrase.

To help explain it better, I found a great piece by IBM (an industry leader in analytics) describing the four dimensions their data scientists use to interpret big data.

Volume. There is more data being produced now than ever before. One of the most fascinating stats
brought up by IBM is that “40 zettabytes of data will be created by 2020, an increase of 300 times from
2015.”

Variety. The kinds of data being retrieved is also expanding exponentially. Social content, video
content, engagement data – business operations in all industries have become more focused since
digital analytics has taken hold, and big data will make it easier to collect and synthesize more different
kinds of data.

Velocity. The analysis of streaming data is where it gets really interesting. Big data operates through a
network of nodes and sensors within a large framework, all connected to a central hub. These nodes
and sensors can be designed to track any kind of information you want. For example, cars are now
made with nearly 100 sensors that maintenance issues in the vehicle (fuel level, tire pressure, etc.).

Veracity. This refers to the uncertainty of data. A lot of business leaders are still lacking trust in the
legitimacy of the data generated by big data analytics. There is no easy solution here, and two things
need to happen: Real improvements to the functionality of big data software need to be made, and
business leaders need to put some of the data they generate to work and see how it fares.

So, let’s say you are a mid-sized business and are not sure how, or even if, big data can be of use.

As Barbara Weltman puts it, small businesses already have the data sets required to make use of big
data – they just need to know how.

Here are some ways it can help, no matter the size of your business:
1. Customer Insights. The volume of data is certainly there when it comes to customer social
media content and search history.

2. Predict Trends. Looking at the macro-level searches and trends will help your business stay one
step ahead of the pack.

3. Efficiency. There are a lot of software programs available to synthesis all internal
communications and operations (including supply chain issues).

Are numbers important?
In short, yes. Like Zig Ziglar said, “The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does
exist.” In order to fix an issue, it is helpful to know where the problem is stemming from. Measuring
your business metrics and data are very useful tools.