How to Act like the Whole World is Watching

Dov Seidman, CEO and founder of the business ethics company LRN, has come out with a new book on transparency in life and work titled How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything...in Business (and in Life). In the age of camera/video phones, googling, and blogging, transparency is more important than ever. Here's some advice on how to behave accordingly.

What inspired you to write this book?

The hyperconnected world has thrust us together faster than we have developed frameworks of understanding to adapt to it. I wanted to help people see the tremendous opportunity to be had if you can look at the world through the lens of HOW.

You say that you feel "out behaving" is more important than "out performing"-- how much more important?

If you collaborate better with your co-workers, you can win. If you can inspire more people throughout your global network, your productivity skyrockets. When it comes to how you do what you do, there is immense variation, and where a broad spectrum of variation exists, opportunity exists. The tapestry of human behavior is so varied that it presents a rare opportunity, the opportunity to out-behave the competition.

What about the whole "nice guys finish last"? Aren't many successful CEOs famous for being ruthless?

"Nice guys finish last," by the way, is just bad science. It hearkens back to the cracked notion that "survival of the fittest" means the strongest are most fit. Evolutionary anthropologists now believe that human society developed not because the biggest caveman in the tribe got all the girls, but because reproductive advantage went to the guy who could get everyone to work together toward a common purpose. As a species, we're rather scrawny and weak-it is our superior ability to collaborate [that matters].

You say "trust is the currency of the connected world." But due to recent scandals in both business and politics, how can consumers, shareholders, and the public regain trust in businesses and leaders?

To function successfully in the world-to take risks, achieve things, and function at our best-we require a certain level of certainty and stability. We all have a vision of what that is, but we also often feel a gap between that vision and the reality. Scandals, economic volatility, and war create uncertainty in both the marketplace and our hearts. I call this the Certainty Gap- the space between the stability we need and the instability we have. Trust fills the Certainty Gap. It gives us protection and confidence to achieve in uncertain times. The more trust we can build around us, in our connections with other people and organizations, the more we can achieve.

You say, 'In a world where "information is infinite" it doesn't do any good to horde it. We must instead make it more accessible' ... I know you think bloggers have a positive impact because they can act as "moral police," so to speak, but what are the negative aspects of blogging? Isn't it easier to spread false information?

Bloggers are just one manifestation of this new hypertransparency. Responding to an unwanted Congressional subpoena, the White house recently tried to thwart the investigation by dumping a million pages of documents into the public record late on a Friday night, a tried-and-true technique for hiding bad news. Within hours, a legion of bloggers across the country were combing through the documents and instantly posting the facts the White House had hoped would remain hidden for as long as possible.

We've always had watchdogs that help protect us, and gossips who deliberately or inadvertently ruin reputations. We're doing the same thing our ancestors did by whispering over the fence or across the field, only now it's instant and reaches millions. We are never going to become less connected or have less information at our fingertips. We need to retrain our muscles from hoarding information to being actively transparent about what we do.

If you make a very public faux pas - for example, like whole foods CEO
John Mackey - what is the best way to heal from it? Best and worst ways to react?

Mike Fricklas, General Council of Viacom, told me his wife believes trust is like a ladder. You climb up on rung at a time, but when you slip, you fall all the way to the bottom again. In a transparent world, where information flows like a toddler (it goes everywhere, gets into everything, and can't really be stopped), everyone who cares knows what you did almost instantly. Second chances are harder to come by. The best way to heal from a lapse in judgment is not to jeopardize your reputation in the first place. We must realize that even when we think we're hiding behind the firewall, chances are the world will eventually see through.

I like the way Steve Jobs handled the situation when Apple was touched by the options backdating scandal. He launched an independent internal investigation, made the results public immediately, took the blame squarely on his shoulders and apologized. He did it quickly, proactively, and without hesitation. He was actively transparent, and was able to minimize the damage to Apple's reputation and the marketplace's loss of trust. The challenge for those who want to thrive lies in refocusing our efforts on those areas where opportunity exists, and today, that means thinking a lot about how we do what we do.

Who are some CEOs/executives that really embody your beliefs?

Bill Marriott, 74 year old CEO of Marriott Worldwide used to go from hotel to hotel with a pencil and paper taking notes for his staff. Now he blogs. Instead of issuing directives for his staff to execute, he is establishing a direct relationship with anyone who might want to take a shower in one of his hotel rooms. In today's collaborative world, more and more of us get a chance to lead every day, to interact with customers, suppliers, and partners. That's why more and more of us need to understand the importance of getting our hows right.

Lastly, if you could sell your book in a bumper sticker, what would it say?

"Hows Matter"

--Andrea Chalupa