When I talk about community in your organization, I am met with stares. They think I am talking about something soft. Like, let’s hold hands and make our work comfortable. But that is not at all what I am talking about. I am talking about what happens when people go through the fire together and come out the other side. I am talking about what happens when people do not and cannot let each other down because they have picked each other up when the objective was difficult and important. That end-state is where The Courage Economy will lead you.

If you want trust, then work on something important enough that the truth becomes the rational choice. When the work isn’t that important, then don’t be surprised by any number of shenanigans.

We talk about trust all the time. But trust is only displayed in one way. ‘Consistent truth-telling under pressure’. When what you say and do has little consequence, then it means little. But when you tell the truth when the stakes are high, then people begin to have every reason to trust you.

Most leaders I work with want their culture to be different. They want it to be better, more nimble, more strategic, more innovative. Whatever you want to change in your organization, by and large you must first look to what you reward, punish, and tolerate. You want people to be more strategic? Start rewarding that behavior and stop hiring, developing, and promoting based on the tactical. You want more push back and debate? Stop punishing pushback and start rewarding it.

The problem is, most leaders really don’t want to do this. The tactical HR leaders doesn’t really want her people to be strategic business partners because her organization is designed to fulfil the wishes of operational leaders. The operational leader doesn’t really want pushback because he doesn’t want to deal with having to debate and explain himself.

Every lie in your organization holds something up or protects something. Dig deep enough and you’ll see why leaders say they want something but won’t actually do the things to get it. That is the corporate Lie Economy.

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One of the hallmarks of the Lie Economy is making things so complicated that no one understands them. This is for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s because the ‘translator’ gets value out of being the only one able to decipher it. Sometimes it’s because making it complicated telegraphs that you are really smart.

Over the years I have some to believe in the truth and simplicity of the phrase - “Amateurs make things complex. Professionals make them simplify.'“

Certainly, this is not to over-simplify to the point of losing true understanding. Some things are indeed very complicated. But most things are not as complicated as they seem.

In this episode we talk about culture. Much has been written about it, but in the end, it’s not that complicated. And making it complicated does a disservice to anyone who wants to improve it.

Challenge is a foundational pillar of the Courage Economy. If you are engaged in important work, then you will want to challenge it. In the face of true and rewarded challenge, the Lie Economy begins to die.

Most organizations design for comfort rather then excellence. This is a mistake. In this episode we will explore who to design work where the truth is cheaper than the lie.

It is not enough to ask people to be more courageous. You must design work such that courage is required.

While important work is the first pillar of the Courage Economy, questions and curiosity are a real threat to the Lie Economy. In fact, questions are poison to a Lie Economy. When we ask questions, we are able to more accurately discern truth from fiction. And that is why questions are often frowned on in a Lie Economy. In this episode we explore this dynamic and why curiosity and questions should be celebrated.

Given that important work is so critical for the creation of a Courage Economy, it is necessary that we honor important work. When we try to get people motivated by telling them that unimportant work is important, the next time you have actual important work to do, they won’t believe you. Treat important work in the way it deserves.

Important work is the foundation of a Courage Economy. Without important work, you will likely have a Lie Economy. But why is this so? Why do lies proliferate in an environment of unimportant work?