Lie-Ability: How Leaders Build and Break Trust

by Alan Watkins, Simon Jones

Business success depends on the ability to build trust. Trusted brands succeed and sustain. Trusted leaders inspire followers, grow companies, revenues and futures. But sadly, deceit has infected business and become widespread. Far too many leaders now use their own "alternative facts", to mislead and misinform their customers, colleagues and communities. The skilfulness and ease with which some leaders now lie has become a Lie-Ability. And when customers stop trusting the products, services or the stories a leader tells, then the business suffers.

If business leaders don't lead a truth renaissance, we are all lost. People no longer trust politicians or the media. And many of the institutions and professions we used to turn to have also lost trust. The only people that can really save us now are business leaders. We need to become truth advocates and activists. We must re-establish a new norm where we tell the truth to ourselves, to our employees, to our shareholders, to our customers and to society at large.

This book explores the 7 Deadly Lies that business tells itself, the 7 Dark Arts of Deception that are still used with monotonous regularity to manipulate the narrative. It offers C-suite leaders and senior managers a clear path out of deceit. It provides a solution to the Lie-Ability of some leaders by developing a deeper understanding of truth, how to reclaim it and how to build back trust.

206 pages, ebook

Published November 30, 2022

About the author

"Alan Watkins is recognized as an international expert on leadership and human performance. He has a broad mix of commercial, academic, scientific and technological abilities. Over the past 18 years he has been a coach to many of Europe’s top business leaders and has helped companies treble share price, enter the FTSE 100, salvage difficult turnarounds and establish market leadership in their industry. He has written two books and has three more coming out this year. He advised the GB Olympic squad prior to London 2012 and is continuing to work with them leading up to Rio in 2016. He has a three degrees and is a neuroscientist by background."